Boruto: A New Era
by avidtalesfan
Summary: The story of Metal Lee and his team. The world was at peace. A new generation of ninja was formed, and with it came a new generation of problems. How will they handle it despite the problems of their daily lives? Set after The Last, right before Boruto.
1. Chapter 1: Generation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 1: Generation

* * *

 **5:00 a.m.**

Today was THE day, many have waited for this moment, and excitement was universal for several 13 year old kids and their families. However the sun has yet to show itself, and all those soon-to-be adults were still in their bed. All but one; a tall, well-built young boy who was jogging all around the village. The boy was wearing a green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers and bandages over his hands and forearms. He also wore a similar orange neck warmer as a scarf and he was sweating buckets through his strange looking black bowl haircut. The few villagers who started or finished their work at this time were used to the sight of that peculiar boy and knew him well, he always greeted them politely albeit a bit loud.

"GOOD MORNING SIR, TODAY IS A GOOD DAY" he yelled to the baker who was opening his shop and was letting the warm delicious smell of freshly baked bread waft around. The baker laugh at the boy's enthusiasm, he liked kids who spend their energy in any way other than bothering him or his customers.

"Hello Lee-kun, training hard?" he gently asked the boy.

"SIR, YES SIR. TODAY IS THE DAY MY SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH REACHES A NEW STAGE" the latter replied passionately while still jogging.

"Ahh, is that so? Good for you my boy, so you woke up early to celebrate?"

"NO SIR, I COULD NOT SLEEP. SO I RAN IN EVERY STREETS UNTIL I COVERED ALL OF THEM AT LEAST ONCE."

"What? You did not sleep at all? Does your sensei know?"

"No sir" he replied with just as much passion but not as loud as before. "He is currently on an important mission and will only be back in a few days."

"I see. Well let me congratulate you by giving you this freshly baked Melonpan" the baker offered to the boy a sweet bread in a small brown paper bag. The boy's eye grew large and his grin grew even larger.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS KINDNESS UNTIL I DIE!" he replied gratefully before biting ferociously into the bread.

"Hahaha, good. Now go home before your mother worries. And tell her I said hi"

"SHIR, YESH SHIR" with the bread still in his mouth. He set off while waving goodbye to the baker.

 _Is something important happening today?_ the man wondered.

* * *

 **6:00 a.m.**

Meanwhile, at the east border of the village where the Fire Country's seemingly endless forest begun, in a large Japanese-style compound, a slightly petite girl woke up in her small bedroom as soon as her clock stroked 6 a.m., no alarm was needed for her. She opened her pupils, revealing her grey eyes. She had a serious look on her face, she wasn't frowning but there was no smile either. Every day without fail she would wake up at this exact time and carried off her morning routine. She attached her long reddish brown hair in a single high ponytail, folded her futon properly, put on her high collared beige coat and her black bike shorts, went in the garden silently, and did several stretches while breathing the fresh morning air.

After that she went to the small area in the garden that her fa…no, her guardians, set up for her. She approached 3 wooden crates which were emitting a low and gentle buzzing sound. She said with an equally low and gentle voice "Good morning to you as well. Today is a special day, you will have to memorise the scents and sounds of a few new people, forgive me for the trouble."

The reply was a few short buzzing sounds of different wavelength and frequency, it sounded almost like a weird tune but to the girl the meaning was perfectly clear: "Acknowledged." Yes, today was going to be a special day, whether it would be good or bad was yet to be determined. The girl decided to wait until she had all the necessary information, after all it would be foolish, even ridiculous, to reach a conclusion based on just feelings and emotions.

* * *

 **7.00 a.m.**

The alarm clock ringed an audible noise that blared through the whole room, a palm slammed on the switch to turn in off, a grumpy noise could be heard while a body was slowly getting up. The teenager was really NOT a morning person. He would usually take 15 minutes, at least, to get up. But today was a special day. He lazily got off his large bed and headed off the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Looking in the mirror he saw the familiar 13 year old boy with an average build, an average height, messy dark green hair, light brown eyes, and a dazzlingly good looking face. A large wing shaped black tattoo could be seen on the center of his back. He smiled at the mirror while thinking about how today will go, strangely he had mixed feeling. On one hand he was about to begin what could be an exciting new adventure, on the other hand he did not know if he would get along with the people that will become his companions.

The boy had a fair share of relationship problems, his slightly narcissistic personality was an issue to those around him but he would not change for the world. After all his favourite features, namely his face, hair and eyes, were gifts from the 2 people he loved most and he was proud to have them.

A delicious smell snapped him out of his thoughts. Every morning he would smell a delicious breakfast just waiting for him to be eaten but this time the smell was clearly from a JAPANESE breakfast. He put on his clothes in a hurry and ran downstairs to the kitchen hoping that he would found who he was looking for. If he did, this would have definitely made this day extra special.

However when he came downstairs only a man reading the newspapers was sitting at the table. He was a perfect image of him but older; he had his face but with the lines of an adult, a taller and larger build, similar coloured hair but combed in a formal style, among the other features. His eyes were also of a deep blue colour.

"Good morning, son" his father said to him calmly.

"Good morning" he replied while looking around him to see if he could find the person he was looking for.

"She went back to bed" the man replied with a sad smile to him, guessing his intentions. "She tried to stay awake but could not. Although she insisted on making breakfast today." He then pointed at a plate on the kitchen counter; it had a bowl of rice, a smaller bowl of miso soup with seaweed and small tofu cubes, a grilled fish, a few pickles, and his favourite: tamagoyaki with ketchup on the side.

The boy could not help but feel elated and sad at the same time; his mother had woken up to prepare breakfast despite her condition. She even made a hearty breakfast for him. He only wished he could have helped her; cooking with her was one of his favourite but rare pastimes.

"It's okay. It's not THAT important of a day you know, she should be resting" the boy said more to himself than his father. He grabbed the plate and put it on the table, he sat opposite direction to his father. "Itadakimasu" the boy said lazily. He started eating slowly, enjoying the taste of his mother's cooking. A hand came on his head.

"You're wrong. Your mother never had the chance to experience what you did, that's why she wanted to do something for you. She wanted your day to start on a bright note" the man replied as he happily ruffled his son's hair. "So, enjoy today to its fullest, okay?" He then returned to his reading.

The boy looked at his father's serious smile, "Yes, dad" he said finally smiling himself. He realised this meal was his mother's way to greet him in the morning should she be unable to. _I should not ask for more. I should be happy with what I have now, I AM happy with what I have now_ , he thought to himself. "Thanks, mom" he whispered, his father's smile grew behind the newspaper.

* * *

 **7:30 a.m.**

"Hinabachi."

The girl turned from the sink where she had just finished washing the tableware from her breakfast.

"Aburame-san" she replied politely. "Are you heading to the Academy?"

"Yes, but before I go I have something for you" he handed her a file with her name on it. When she opened it, there was a photo of her glued on the upper left corner of the first page along with other basic information about her such as name, age, gender, etc. There was a red seal stamped at the bottom of said page. The file contained various information about her: her history until now, her current abilities, her medical results, and so on.

"What is…" before she finished, the man handed her a forehead protector with a leaf symbol on it.

"These are your identification documents, and your hitai-ate; you are now an official genin of Konohagakure. The jōnin sensei assigned to you has received a copy of that file, the seal indicates approval from the Hokage Office" he said to her in a somehow cheerful tone. Well, as cheerful as an Aburame could get. It sounded… unnatural.

The girl was staring at the forehead protector with an astonished expression. She knew this was going to happen, she was told about this a few weeks ago when she arrived at this village, but she only realised it now while holding the hitai-ate. She had dreamed several times the day she would receive this particular object, she had imagined a few scenarios, some realistic, others a bit exaggerated, but in all these dreams the symbol was a rock not a leaf.

She looked up and noticed the raise eyebrows above the visor of the man in front of her. "I'm sorry, it's just… I don't know what to…" she stammered. She was uncomfortable in his presence. In anyone's presence from this village actually. "Thank you, I will do my best to be worthy of this" she replied.

"What is the matter?" he inquired gently.

"I…" she hesitated, she was afraid that what she would say might anger the man, or the Hokage for that matter. She was afraid that the Aburame might report her to the Hokage, and that the latter would report to Tsuchikage-sama. She could almost picture the disappointed expression on her face, Hinabachi was scared of that more than anything else.

"I understand. This is not what you intended to do with your life, at least not in this current place" he said knowingly. "However, one must accept his own circumstances and adapt to them in order to make the best with what he has. Your circumstances are unusual to say the least, but I ask you to consider your situation logically and decide what is best for you."

They stared at each other before he continued "What is it that you currently want in order for you to achieve your desired goal?"

After a few minutes thinking about what he said, the girl replied "I want to obtain the necessary tools, the power to stand up on my own, the skills I need… everything that is needed, to go back... to Iwagakure." The last part was said in a low voice. She feared his reaction.

"Very well. In that case you should strive to become an excellent ninja, a ninja skilled enough so that she can deal with any obstacles effectively" he said.

Hinabachi looked at him with a questioning face. When he saw it he smiled a little. This bothered her. Why was this man, her guardian, helping her so? He encouraged her even though she just basically said that after obtaining everything that this village could offer her, she would leave it, and him. It made her feel guilty.

"I am going to be late. When you finish, do not forget: come into the Academy building, and enter class 3-A. There you will know the identity of your teammates. I preside over this class, so do not be late or I won't take it kindly. Class session starts at 8:30 sharp. Understood?" he said seriously.

"Yes, Aburame-san."

"I must warn you that several recently graduated students will notice you since you were never seen in their classes before. There is a chance they will ask you several questions. Feel free to answer them if you wish but do not divulge any sensitive information."

"Hai. I understand. Do not worry. I have already prepared for such an eventuality and anticipated any possible questions, I have in mind which answers to give for each of them."

"Excellent. It would have been a pleasure to have you as a student."

She blushed slightly, unaccustomed to the praise "If I make a mistake with this, the one who will be troubled in the end would be the Tsuchikage" she said coldly, not understanding why.

The man just nodded, seemingly okay with that response. This also baffled her. Shouldn't the tone that she used made him angry?

Without another word, he left, leaving the young girl with her thoughts.

* * *

 **8:00 a.m.**

Metal opened the door of the class with unnecessary force and shouted at top of his lungs "GOOD MORNING, NOW IS THE START OF THE SPRINGTIME OF OUR YOUTH!" No reply. Metal noticed that over half of the class has yet to arrive.

"Good morning Metal-kun, please take your seat and keep your voice down" Shino-sensei added monotonously.

"HAI" the youth replied, earning a sigh from his teacher.

Metal took his usual seat while observing each and every one of his classmates, wondering who among them will become his teammates and possibly his sparring partners.

As time passed, he grew fidgety. Patience was not one of his talents, his mother often scolded him for that. More and more students kept arriving until he saw the one person he wanted as a teammate and rival. He jumped from his seat and landed right in front of said person.

"SARADA-CHAN! GOOD MORNING" he shouted at the bespectacled girl dressed in red.

"Hello Metal, good to see you. As energetic as always" she replied with a smile. Everyone in their class was used to Metal's outbursts. Some, like Sarada, found it amusing while others found it annoying. The latter never voiced it aloud though. Not anymore.

It happened once a few years ago, during lunch time, a class bully targeted Metal and insulted him in various ways; his clothes, his hair, his eyebrows, his voice, everything he could come up with. But Metal endure it with a saintly patience, until the bully, having lost HIS patience, insulted his father. The result was that the man himself had to come to the Academy and apologise to the teacher and the bully's parents. Metal had punched the boy so hard that he flew out of the window shattering it in the process. Fortunately it was a rare snow day, and the idiot landed on a soft pile of snow. Surprisingly, his injuries were minor; Metal's punch was more 'pushing' rather than 'striking', an instinctual technique his father taught him when fighting weaker opponents or non-ninjas that could die should he get serious. After that no one dared insult him, and no one was surprised that he ranked first in the taijutsu part of the final exam.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WOR…" he stopped when a hand silently touched his shoulder from behind. The boy turned around swiftly only to find his sensei's face, just a few inches from his. There was an irritated buzzing sound. To the class who knew him, that was their sensei's version of a growl.

"I'm sorry" Metal whispered visibly trembling. The man nodded and went back to his seat as if nothing happened.

"You have got to stop that Metal, all of us can hear you even when you talk normally" a blond boy with blue eyes said arriving right behind the Sarada.

Still trembling Metal said "Good morning to you too, Boruto-kun."

The boy snickered.

"It's not funny Boruto. Remember; you could not even utter a word the last time sensei did this to you" Sarada said amusedly.

"That was years ago, I'm a genin now, I'm not afraid of some silly little bu…" he started until a big visor appeared out of nowhere right in front of him.

Boruto's face went from normal, to white, to blue and he began to mumble something incomprehensible while looking like he just shat his pants. He had just insulted bugs in front of an Aburame. Baaa-ka.

"Go to your seats, quietly, all of you" the teacher replied neutrally while staring at all of them, including a white haired boy in a blue kimono who came right behind the blond.

"Hai" all of them replied and hurried to their seats.

Dissapointed, Metal decided he would ask Sarada later, then he realised he should wait until after knowing who would actually be on his team. 'Think before you act' his mother would often say to him. There was after all no indication he would be on the same team as the girl so he decided to return to his seat and took out his notebook where he wrote anything he thought interesting or worth remembering. When he was reading today's note which started with; Buy 2 cartons of milk… several high pitched screams resounded all around him.

"KYAA", "TSUBASA-KUN", "GOOD MORNING", "OVER HERE", "TSUBASA-SAMA", and it went on and on until …

The whole class was instantly filled with flying kikai bugs buzzing like they were ready to attack.

Complete silence.

"Good morning Shino-sensei, I'm sorry for the commotion" the green haired boy apologised with a bow. The scream had started when he entered the classroom. He was wearing an opened black jacket over a blue v-neck t-shirt and black jeans, with dark green climbing boots and thin black hiking gloves.

"Go to your seat quietly, Tsubasa-kun" the man replied while opening the attendance file. His kikaichu were slowly returning to him, crawling back underneath his clothes, almost the whole class got extremely cold shivers down their spines.

Tsubasa nodded while keeping himself as far away as he could from his teacher then winked with a smirk to the whole class. His fan-girls had to put their hands over their mouths to prevent them from screaming.

Metal did not like Tsubasa. He was the most popular boy in school, his looks, gentlemanly behaviour, and attitude made him look like some sort of noble. And he treated every girl he met like a princess. During break hours girls from other classes would come and ask him for lunch. On a clear day, it was a common sight to see him seated on a picnic sheet under a tree, with his lunch, while surrounded by dozens of girls all seated around him. This made many boys jealous, and Metal was one of them.

However, just like with him, one day, a group of boys attempted to beat Tsubasa up just for the fun of it. Tsubasa merely smiled at them, and before anyone noticed the bullies started fighting each other viciously. Tsubasa simply walked away while everyone else, including Metal, was watching. The bullies were throwing punches, scratching, biting, spitting, yelling insults at their friends(?) until a teacher came and tried to split them up, but it looked like that they did not even notice him until the teacher realised something, made a seal with his hands, and poke the boys once each. The boys stopped their fight and sat down on the ground looking confused, lost and battered. When questioned on what happened, the boys stated that they were fighting Tsubasa, who was also fighting them. It was later discovered that Tsubasa had inflicted upon them a genjutsu, it was an Academy-standard genjutsu which merely changed another's perception of a single object or person. What was impressive however was that Tsubasa used it without any hand seals; that alone would have required an extremely precise chakra control far beyond the level of a genin. Of course, he was not praised for using it for that purpose, but from that moment, Tsubasa was known as a genjutsu genius.

No, Metal definitely did not like Tsubasa. Their personalities clashed with each other. One was passionate and hardworking, while the other was blithe and made no effort in anything that did not interest him. But unlike the bullies, Metal did not confront the boy, he simply ignored him. The latter did the same. Any conversation between them was quick and civil.

Metal's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a stranger. A girl wearing a coat too large for her. She entered the class and sat down right next to him. He had never seen her before.

* * *

8:29 a.m.

Hinabachi came at the last minute to avoid any unpleasant questions. She knew she would attract attention by coming last but compare to the possibility of being questioned by these carefree children, she made a choice and stood by it. When she entered, the class was quiet, everyone but the teacher was staring at her. _He probably sensed me and guessed my plan before I came in, he is a tracking specialist after all_ , the girl thought. She came in, ignoring the glances and took the closest seat she could find which was next to a strangely dressed boy. But she put all of this out of her mind and focused solely on the only adult in the room.

The boy in green was looking at her, and opened his mouth when Shino started speaking "Welcome to you all, today you will be assigned to your genin teams. All of you represent the new generation of ninjas that will build a new era for the shinobi world. I hope you are ready. Let us start."

* * *

Author's note: this is the first fanfic I've ever written. Constructive criticisms are welcomed. Please inform me of any mistakes no matter how small it is.


	2. Chapter 2: Team

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 2: Team

* * *

 _Let us start_

"And finally the remaining ones of you will constitute Team 11" said Shino-sensei.

Metal was very disappointed, not only he was not partnered with Sarada-chan, but the only remaining person left was Tsubasa. He looked at the boy, who was looking at him with an annoyed expression. Metal frowned.

 _He's looking down on me again_ he thought.

In the class he could heard several groans; Tsubasa's fan-girls were also disappointed but for the complete opposite reason.

"Enough" Shino-sensei said with a final tone. "The people you are teamed with will become your partners, you would do well to learn how to work with them. Any complaints will be rejected."

Many were sulking, Metal was not the only one who did not like his situation. One exception were Yamanaka Inojin, Nara Shikadai, and Akimichi Chocho, all 3 looked unsurprised. They already knew they would be on the same team; having their parents treating each other as siblings made the 3 of them very close since infancy, and since the combo of Ino-Shika-Cho was famous, they were almost certain to be on the same team.

"Team 1, 4, 5, and 9, please procced to the courtyard where your jonin sensei will be waiting for you" their teacher continued. No one moved.

"Now" he said audibly. 12 students scrambled around, leaving the room hastily.

"Team 2 and 6, your sensei are waiting for you on the rooftop. Team 3 and 8, your destination is the assembly hall, move out."

The aforementioned people left in a hurry as well.

"Team 7, 10, and 11, your sensei will be arriving for you soon. Stay here" he said to the remaining children. He then gathered his papers, and headed to the exit.

"Ano, Aburame-san…" Hinabachi approached him.

"Yes?"

"I just want to confirm; I'm in Team 11, am I?"

"Correct" the man nodded. He then walked out the room. "Good luck" he said quietly to the girl so that only she would hear it. The girl bowed politely in response.

The 9 ex-students were waiting in the room, passing the time in any way they could. Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki were chatting amicably. Shikadai was sleeping with his head and arms on the table. Chocho was eating from a huge bag of chips. Inojin and Tsubasa were both painting something silently; one on his scroll, the other on his sketchpad. Each would glance at the other's work and would occasionally make a comment with terms only artists could understand. Hinabachi was reading a small book with the Konoha symbol on it. And Metal…

The boy clad in green was doing push-ups at a frightening speed.

The door suddenly opened, a black haired woman in her late teens wearing a standard jonin attire stepped in the classroom.

"Team 10, I'm your new sensei" she said happily to the three people in question.

"Mirai-neechan? You're our sensei?" Chocho said, surprised.

"Yes I am" the woman replied still smiling.

"But you're a chunin, right?" Inojin inquired hesitantly.

"I was. I passed the exam about 2 weeks ago. It took some time to deal with all the paperwork since it was a very short notice but Hokage-sama helped on that matter."

"That old man is sticking his nose everywhere again. How troublesome" Shikadai said, annoyed. "Probably found it funny to put this team together; making the daughter of our parent's sensei into our sensei."

Mirai walked to the boy's side and began pulling on his ear. "OW OW OW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the boy screamed in pain.

"Don't talk about your Hokage like that, it's disrespectful. Also your mother gave me permission to use force to… encourage you to improve your attitude" the woman said with another smile.

"Great! Another troublesome woman… OW" the boy's eyes began to tear up.

"Don't take that tone with me boy, how many times do you think I've had to babysit you" she smirked. "Alright team, let's head out" the woman said to the 3 genin of her team. Chocho looked happy, she was not going to be the only girl, and Mirai-neechan was very nice, she would sometimes treat her to yakiniku. On the other hand Inojin looked nervous, he liked Mirai, but she could be as scary as his mother when angered, and Shikadai's laziness had a tendency to anger many people. This promised to be quite messy.

Shikadai closed the door behind him as they left, rubbing his ear while mumbling "Troublesome."

Only the 6 of them were left.

"So, who are you?" Boruto asked the girl in the big coat who jolted. "I've never seen you before."

The girl looked at him but did not answer.

"I mean you're not from our school right, otherwise I'd have seen you at least once" the boy continued.

"Boruto, I think you're making her nervous" Sarada said.

"But she's going to be Metal and Tsuba's partner, and a ninja from our year. Should we not get to know her?"

The rest of them looked at each other. That was true.

Their thoughts were interrupted by the sliding of the door. A tall man with brown hair, a jonin vest and a blue scarf came in, alongside a woman with a short kimono jacket with billowing sleeves, similar to Mitsuki's, but golden in colour with flying birds designed on it. She also wore long black ninja boots, while the rest of her legs were bare. Her attire was not what attracted attention the most though, it was her pearly white eyes that marked her as a member of the Hyuga Clan. Both looked like they were in their mid-twenties.

"Konohamaru-san?" Boruto exclaimed.

"Hiya Boruto, from now on you will address me as Konohamaru-sensei" the man replied proudly.

"You gotta be kidding me. It's that old fart's idea right?" the blond said darkly.

"Boruto, stop calling him that" Konohamaru scolded. "And yes it was his idea, any problem with me being your new teacher?"

"No problem at all, sensei" Sarada said quickly with a forced smile. She had just slapped her hand on Boruto's mouth when the latter was about to say something.

"Good. Let's go then."

He turned to the woman, smiling at her "I'll see you later?"

"Sure" the woman replied while frowning. Konohamaru grinned widely at her lightly blushing cheeks. Then he turned back to his students "Meet me at Training area 3, last one there will get a penalty."

He vanished in a blur.

Team 7 looked confused, until Mitsuki opened the window and dashed out. Sarada snapped out of her trance and followed him, jumping as far as she could, which was quite far, considering she had gathered chakra at her feet and sprang. Boruto was the last one and jumped out of the window too, but in a more clumsy way "HEY, NO FAIR" he screamed at his already gone teammates.

The classroom went quiet with the 4 remaining people in it. The woman stared at the three youngsters with her white eyes. Tension among the genin grew.

"Come" she said walking out of the room, not bothering to wait for an answer.

The others followed obediently. After seeing the others' sensei, all three of them were a little grateful that they did not get someone who knew them personally.

* * *

She walked at a leisurely pace, leaving the Academy grounds. Metal recognised the direction she was taking, only Training Area 7 and 8 could be found if they continued that way. He did not say anything though, like the others, he was observing the woman attentively.

As they walked in the streets, the 3 genin noticed that many people were looking in their direction and several of them, mostly shopkeepers and managers of restaurants and teahouses, either scrambled out of their way or bowed deeply. Metal heard that the Hyuga clan were actual nobles. He concluded that this woman was someone important among the clan, perhaps she was related to the clan head.

They reached what Metal recognised as Training Area 8; a large clearing in the middle of numerous trees. A good place to train without being seen.

The woman sat on a fallen log and pointed to the ground in front of her. The 3 genin sat down quickly.

"Now then, let's begin by introducing ourselves" the woman said calmly to them.

"Ano, what information should we give?" the girl in the big coat said.

"Well, things like your name, likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future. That sort of stuff" replied the woman.

"SENSEI, PLEASE GO FIRST TO GIVE US AN IDEA" Metal said loudly with a raised hand.

She looked at him and sighed. "Very well. Let's see…" she began while thinking.

"My name is Hyuga Hanabi. I like to drink tea and to travel in foreign lands. I dislike cowards and quitters. My dreams are…" she said while her 3 student bent forward to listen closely "classified."

The genin sweatdropped. _That's it?_ _That was unusual. We did not learn much._

"Alright, now it's your turn. How about you start?" she looked at Metal.

"YES MA'AM" he said enthusiastically. He cleared his throat and closed his eye as if he was meditating.

"My name is Metal Lee. I like training with my parents, learning their special techniques, and sparing with strong ninjas. I dislike bullies and people who hurt those weaker than them. My dream is to surpass my father's master; the sublime green beast of Konoha, Maito Gai" Metal said with a clenched fist, wide sparkly smile, and tears pouring from his still closed eyes.

Hanabi smiled a little, enjoying hearing about the fame of his late cousin's sensei, especially coming from the son of his teammates. More importantly this boy was still innocent, if not a bit naïve. _This one will be manageable_. "Next" she looked at Tsubasa.

The boy bowed his head and put on his most attractive smile "My name is Kurama Tsubasa. I like cooking and oil painting. I dislike boys with no manners and those that treat girls rudely. My dream is to become a medical ninja under the tutelage of the Godaime"

Hanabi was thoughtful. She read his file and registered that last tidbit as new information. At first glance this boy appeared frivolous, but she knew better than to underestimate him. "You're last, little girl"

Hinabachi was nervous, since the beginning of the introduction she was thinking about what to say while listening to her new teammates to determine if they were a potential threat to her. Even though she had planned what to say beforehand, the fact that the jonin had read her file meant that she could not lie her way out. There were so many things she would rather not reveal to those two boys, people that age tend to reveal things without meaning to.

She went through her file earlier and was aghast to see that there were many things she thought Tsuchikage-sama would keep to herself. Several parts of the report were blacked out but Hinabachi had no doubts the Hokage and several high officials, including her new sensei, had read the uncensored version. Seeing the part where her family's details should have been censored as well, gave her a pang to the heart. It reminded her of her unfortunate circumstances.

"My name is … Kamizuru Hinabachi" she started. Glancing at her audience, she found them listening attentively. The boy with a bowl cut, Metal Lee was it, was frowning a little. He was actually wondering if she was from a civilian family as he never heard of a Kamizuru clan. Hinabachi continued "I like taking care of my pets and reading about lots of different things like the history of the ninja villages, and animal and plant biology. I dislike loud noises, and strong artificial odours. My dream is… I actually do not have a specific dream yet but I do wish to become a very skilled kunoichi" she finished nervously. She was about to say "to return to my birthplace" but she would prefer those two boys never learn of her origins.

Hanabi looked at the girl. She had perused her file more often than the other two. This girl in front of her was carrying a burden she never should have carried in these peaceful times. She was recalling the meeting with the Hokage and the Tsuchikage in the highly secured meeting room, where the video communicator, reserved for the leaders of the Five Hidden Villages, was installed. The Tsuchikage herself asked her to take care of this girl after telling her what happened. Hanabi was shocked, not only by the nature of the information but also by the fact the Tsuchikage had disclosed this much to her. Her brother-in-law had explained that hiding this kind of information could potentially hurt the young girl, and the Iwa leader had consented. _Here is my most difficult student, this one will be tough_.

"Alright then" she said as she looked in the sky, "It should be around 10:30 a.m. right now, we will start the final test."

She took out a red scroll from her sleeves and attached it with a piece of sturdy string on the belt.

"Ano, sensei? What do you mean by final test? Aren't we genin already?" Tsubasa asked looking confused.

Hanabi looked at the three of them, it was hilarious seeing their befuddled expression. _It's about to get worse… for you. Teehee._

"No, you're not. As a matter of fact none of you are, that includes your other classmates. The Academy exams were to test if you had the POTENTIAL of becoming a genin. To become an Academy student, you just need to be able to mould and control chakra. To become a genin you need to have the approval of both your teachers AND a certified jonin sensei" she said with a smirk while watching their faces slowly changing.

"I'll tell you something else; ever since the day Konoha was founded, the maximum number of students who graduated on their first try never exceeded two digits. Meaning that on the 33 students that graduated from your year, only a maximum of 9 will be allowed to become genin, the rest will be sent back to the Academy for make-up classes."

Hanabi's poker face was one of the best among her clan, only a handful of people could read her accurately such as her father and older sister. However even she had a difficult time maintaining her composure when facing 3 immature genin who were making so many amusing expressions combining bewilderment, horror, and fear, after she revealed to them this closely guarded secret. Or more like an unspoken agreement not to inform. Every ninja who managed to become a fully-fledged genin had to go through this trial first and none of them have forgotten that painful and humiliating lesson, Hanabi included.

It was amusing how Konoha, who prided itself for its unity among its ninjas, kept secret from the younger generation just for the pleasure of seeing them squirm. When she passed her test, her jonin sensei once told her; 'a painful lesson is a worthy lesson.' However she was not convinced seeing as he was muffling his laugh through his words. She wondered if every jonin sensei took a vindictive and sadistic joy in mentally torturing their young genin like that. _Most probably, I understand now why it's kept a secret._

"In any case, forget the statistics. Just focus on my test and do your best to pass. Okay?" she said with a gentle smile. All three of them nodded.

"Right then, to pass this test you simply have to take this scroll from me. Use any mean necessary. The test will last for 2 hours. When the time is up, the one with the scroll in hand will pass, the others will fail" she said casually.

Silence

"Wait" Metal said "You're saying we not only have to get the scroll from you but should we get it, we'll have to fight each other for it?"

"It is called a survival test for a reason, Metal-kun" she told him.

Metal, Tsubasa, and Hinabachi looked at each other. The air between them grew hostile.

"But Hanabi-sensei, this can't be. Shino-sensei told us we were partners. We should not be competing against each other" Hinabachi exclaimed.

"True, but every jonin has his or her way of doing things. There are many high level ninjas that would prefer to take one apprentice only" she waved them off.

"Also think about this; each one of you has his or her reason to become good ninjas. Do either of you really want to reject such an offer?" she said with a serious look. "By becoming my disciple I will dedicate my time to you alone, this practically guarantees you will improve tremendously and at a very fast rate. You will gain much more than if you had to share me with others."

All three of them started to think; that was true.

Metal wanted to become as strong as possible, he wanted to develop his own style in order to stand side by side with his father. So far he could only be a weaker version of him, but one day he wanted to be able to fight him on equal grounds. With a Hyuga jonin as his master he could become stronger much earlier than expected, such an opportunity will not present itself again.

Tsubasa could not afford to lose, unlike the other two, every single day counted. Only certified chunin were allowed in Tsunade-sama's class, so he had to become one as soon as he could. Having Hanabi-sensei as his exclusive teacher was like winning a scholarship. He had to pass this test no matter what. He had too much to lose.

She could not believe this was happening. Just a few minutes ago, Hinabachi was planning on how she would handle working with these 3 people, when her own sensei told her she could become stronger much faster, if she were to pass on her own. It was like a ticket way home was dangling in front of her, daring her to grab it. If she became strong enough, Tsuchikage-sama would almost certainly allowed her to come back to Iwa. To her home.

"Alright then, are you ready?" Hanabi asked. The 3 nodded. "On my signal…"

Suddenly, without turning around, she grabbed something from behind her back right where the scroll was situated. It would look like she grabbed an empty space, when an extended hand faintly appeared, with the wrist locked firmly between her hand. Tsubasa appeared, trying to pull his hand away. The genjutsu he used broke, seemingly from the contact and the surprise.

Metal and Hinabachi looked at the one who was with them, it disappeared in a 'poof'. _A bunshin_ they thought, _when did he …_

"Not bad, Tsubasa-kun. You almost managed to fool me, but you're going to have to work on hiding your killing intent" their sensei said with a small smile. She then lifted the boy over her head and flung him towards the space where his clone used to be. He landed on his back with a grunt of pain.

"Also, keep in mind that this is a test, not a mission. Rules and manners have to be followed. I did not say 'start' yet" Hanabi said while looking at her three students. "Alright, let's do this again. Where was I? Ah yeah, on my signal…"

Tsubasa scrambled up, and all 3 of themselves prepared to dash off.

"START"

* * *

Meanwhile

"YOU'RE JUST MESSING WITH US" Boruto yelled at his new sensei. The latter was holding two small bells.

"Boruto, don't shout, it's annoying" Konohamaru replied with a small smile. "If you want them, come at me with the intent to kill."

"Are you serious sensei? If we fail, we'll have to go to make-up classes?" Sarada said anxiously. She never had to go to those, being the best of the year in academic studies.

"This is not going to end well" Mitsuki said with his enclosed eyes and his big smile.

"Ok, ready…"

* * *

Meanwhile

"Ano, sensei. Where are we going?" Inojin inquired. He had already gotten used to call his long time older friend by her new title.

"We're going someplace to do your final test" she said casually.

"What final test?" Chocho said apprehensively.

"Every time a genin team graduates from the Academy, their jonin sensei make them go through a personalised test to teach the value of teamwork, that sort of sh*t" Shikadai said lazily while walking.

"EHHH, Shikadai, how do you know that?" his two teammates asked, while Mirai merely smile.

"It's a bit obvious. Ninjas are always in team and yet not many people in our class are exactly team players. Most kids are self-centred, so they will have trouble working together, that's why their jonin sensei make them go through a painful test just to teach that. Also they enjoy messing around with us" the pineapple head explained annoyed. The other two looked at him, baffled.

"Hahaha, as expected from Shikadai-chan" Mirai said affectionately. The way she addressed him made him frowned. He knew she was teasing him, a habit since childhood.

"You're correct, all the genin teams have to go through these types of tests" she continued then turn to them when they reach the training area "except you. So..." She pointed at three people standing who were looking at them.

"Dad?" Chocho said.

"Mom?" Inojin said.

"Sh*t" Shikadai swore.

"Surprise kids" Ino said happily.

"Did you really think we wouldn't know that you would deduce the nature of those tests, sonny" Shikamaru said to his son with a smoking cigarette in his mouth.

All three children looked anxious.

"Team, this is your test" Mirai said to them still smiling, "you will fight the previous generation Team 10, using everything you've got. The test will finish when you're completely exhausted"

"Wait what? What the hell? Are you kidding?" Shikadai said very quickly.

"No I'm not Shikadai-chan, since you figured out what your test is, it is only natural that we give you something else. This test is designed to analyse how the three of you work together, how each of your current abilities complement each other, and what improvements that have to be made" Mirai explained with a finger pointed up.

"By the way, we had to go through the exact same test when we were your age. Our fathers did not go easy on us, and we won't go easy on you. We actually took a day off for this event only" Choji said with a smile.

"How is that different from family training?" Inojin said.

"Oh honey," Ino replied to her son with a deceptively sweet smile. "in training, we make sure not to hurt you badly enough to send you to the hospital." The three parents grinned evilly.

The children trembled.

"No way" Shikadai whispered.

"The three of you are genin now, so you are finally entitled to experience real life battles, isn't this great?" Mirai said while sitting against a tree with a book in her hand.

"Papa, you won't hurt me, would you?" Chocho said to her father using a kicked puppy face.

"Oh, Chocho, my little girl" Choji started with a gentle smile which turn into a nasty glare "I went through the kitchen this morning, can you tell me where my bag of XL BBQ Super Deluxe Chips is?"

Chocho gulped. "I… I… don't know, daddy."

No one believed her.

"I told you before, sweetie, food grudges are the most terrifying forces on earth." Chakra seeped through him like blue flames.

"Chocho, why the hell did you had to steal his snacks before today?" Shikadai asked.

"I wanted to eat something special for graduation. I did not know he would be here. I was planning to go back home at dinner time so that he'll be too distracted" Chocho tried to defend herself.

"Ready, children?" Ino said.

"No we're not, what if we just surrender?" Shikadai replied loudly.

"Not an option" the 4 jonin said at the same time.

"Shikadai, what do we do?" Inojin said, he was close to piss his pants.

No replies.

The boy was thinking, until…

"RUNNN" Shikadai yelled.

All three ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction.

"Hahaha. This brings me back. I remember we had the exact same reaction. It was actually the first time I heard you yell, Shikamaru" Ino laughed.

"Well, it was pretty scary" Shikamaru exhaled the smoke.

"Let's go, we want to make sure they don't leave the training area" Choji said excitedly, he had a few ideas how to punish his daughter for her theft.

And so the old Team 10 spent the whole morning chasing and torturing the new Team 10, it was an experience the youngsters would never forget.

* * *

Author's note: The age of the characters are a bit different because I find their actual age in the series and movies confusing. Also here I put graduation time at 13 years old.


	3. Chapter 3: Division

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 3: Division

* * *

"START"

Immediately after Hanabi-sensei's signal, Metal lunged at her with his fist, ready to strike her at full force right in the face. He knew better than to underestimate a jonin, his parents being active ones. Some would say that heading into a battle before knowing the enemy first is suicide, especially if the enemy is factually stronger. But Metal knew that, on some occasion, a sudden unexpected strike could decide the outcome of a match. And he was fairly certain that this woman would not kill him. He was right, Hanabi was happy enough to just send him to the hospital for a few days.

Firstly she blocked his fist with an open palm and a bored look on her face, then with incredible speed and power, she grabbed it, pull him towards her with such force that his feet left the ground, and punched him right in the stomach. Her punch could rival his father's. Metal was blasted away, hitting and breaking a tree on his path. _Damn it really hurts_ he thought painfully.

"Next?" the jonin said as she rolled her eyes.

Hanabi was mildly impressed, she did not expect a frontal attack first thing first. That might have worked if the boy had hidden his intentions better; his body language, facial expression, and killing intent were like screams of what he was about to do. Added to the fact that Hanabi was an expert when it came to reading these signals made that kind of move unsurprisingly futile. The boy packed quite a punch though, as expected of Lee-senpai's son. She looked at the boy scrambling on his feet and jumped away from her.

Now for the other foolish male of her team who did not seem to have listened to her about hiding his killing intent better.

Tsubasa finally understood the difference between a jonin and a mere genin, it was not funny. His sneak attack at first gave him hope that he could win this, but not only did he not expect to be caught so easily, he definitely did not expect to become a punching, or in this case, kicking bag the second time he tried. Luckily his reinforced coat allowed for some protection. Any attempts at hiding or masking himself with genjutsu resulted in complete failure. After his third attempt to sneak behind the jonin, a too-quick-to-see knee strike resulted him being catapulted up in a tree, he tried to inflict a genjutsu directly on her, no success. As soon as he activated his jutsu Hanabi-sensei dispelled it with the usual genjutsu kai. After two failed attempts, she just crossed her arms, did not move and the illusion fell apart just like that.

"Don't you think using the same technique several times is a bit foolish?" Hanabi shouted without looking at him. "Your genjutsu are indeed very realistic and strong, but if you don't know how to use them properly, then you're no different than a baby with a very sharp knife. You can only harm other babies, and yourself." In an extremely fast movement she threw a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, straight where he was hiding. His continuous use of his illusion techniques had revealed his location.

Tsubasa leaped off quickly, running further, trying to find another hiding place. Even though there was no explosion, he continued to leap away until he came into contact with Metal who seemed to be also hiding. They looked at each other, dislike and mistrust obviously on both of their faces.

"I was here first, find someplace else" Metal whispered angrily.

"Don't tell me what to do, if I want to stay here, I'll stay here. If I want to move, I'll move. You're not the boss here, you noisy moron" Tsubasa replied with an even lower voice.

"What did you call me?" Metal said back to me.

"I think he called you a noisy moron, which is not very fair, seeing as both of you are noisy" Hanabi said casually. She was sitting on a branch right above them, her elbows on her knees and her hands holding her chin. She was looking at them with a cheerful expression. The boys stared at her, for the first time since the start of this test they were scared.

Hanabi lazily threw a kunai right at the center where the boys were. The flying kunai snapped them out of their trance and each of them split up in opposite direction. _Now then what will they do? And where is our little girl?_ Hanabi thought.

Unbeknownst to all, Hinabachi was sitting in a tree, watching the three of them and all the vain attempts her 'teammates' had done. Masking and hiding her presence was an easy feat for Hinabachi since she always had to do it when observing wild bugs, or while hunting predators that were threats to her pets. She hid herself as soon as she heard the signal and has been keenly observing her teacher while trying to learn anything she could about her.

Unfortunately she only arrived to a single conclusion based on every move the woman had done, as well as her responses to the different actions taken by the others: there was absolutely no way for her to win. This jonin was far too strong, stronger than an average jonin, which suggested that she was NOT average. None of her movements were wasted, she approached every attack calmly and effectively. The times when she showed an opening were actually a clever invitation for the inexperienced genin. Hinabachi would also have fallen for that, if she hadn't had that training from … _no don't think about that now, focus on this_ , she shook her head roughly trying to not remember her past. On to the teacher, yes, she was above average; Hinabachi had noticed that she hadn't use any jutsu so far.

She had gathered chakra in the palm of her hand to block Metal's punch, and with just a few calculated and precise movement she put him in an ideal position so that the punch he received would do the most damage. The scary fact was that the jonin's punch was a normal one, and it managed to send him flying through a tree. The only time she used chakra against Metal was to block his attack. It was for defense only.

Now for Tsubasa's attacks. His first try before the signal was impressive, Hinabachi did not notice his camouflaging genjutsu or his bunshin. But she concluded that if the first attempt which was a surprise was ineffective, it would not be a good idea to do it again. Tsubasa reached a different conclusion though, and tried to take the scroll the same way two more times before starting to attack the woman directly. Hinabachi did not detect any genjutsu, the teacher had to shout at the boy for his repeated attempts for her to notice it. She had been observing her teacher attentively during the ordeal though, and noticed no change in expression; no fear, no surprise, no pleasure, nothing. Hanabi-sensei merely made the hand seal for kai and dispelled it with no visible effort. She swiftly threw an explosive kunai on top of a tree where Tsubasa was probably hiding. The boy ran away but the kunai did not explode, it was simply a trick, Hanabi-sensei did not pour chakra into the tag to activate it. Once again the only time she actually used chakra was to dispel the genjutsu and even that was obviously not taxing for her. The jonin had yet to attack seriously.

With this Hinabachi arrived to the end of her current observation: none of them are going to win this. Sure, she could just wait until one of the boys got lucky and managed to grab onto the scroll and then steal it from him, but…

 _Luck is part of every mission, every action, every battle you undertake. There is always the possibility that luck could show up, messing a plan completely, giving you or your enemy an advantage. A good shinobi accepts that sometimes luck can cause them to succeed or fail, but never relies on it. Shinobi, or any kind of human, that relies on luck have no confidence in their skills, and no faith in themselves or anyone else. Therefore, they are worthless. I don't want any of those near me_.

The voice in Hinabachi's head was screaming this lesson into her. No, she must not even think about luck. That would be undermining everything she had to go through and everyone that helped her. She was not going to say that she was just unlucky, she would just disgust herself.

"I did say I hate cowards, didn't I?" she heard Hanabi-sensei said loudly. The jonin was standing in the middle of the clearing, arms crossed, a foot tapping on the ground, showing impatience. _Don't fall for that, it's clearly a trap. Focus. Come up with a possible plan_ , Hinabachi started thinking quickly. What if she used the other boys as distraction? Yes that might work, she had to try something, and right now that was the only recourse she could think of. But first…

"Hachi senbon!" she said as loud as she could, and immediately changed her position. Dozens of bees flew out of the trees around the clearing. She had them fly and maintain their position on branches and leaves. The bees began shooting needles at the jonin. The latter smiled, grabbed a kunai in each hand and began swinging them so fast her arms were nothing more than blurs. All needles that were fired at her were at her feet, cut in twos. She then leaped towards the insects while still blocking all the other attacks, and she quickly and expertly hacked the oversized bees until none were left.

"Not bad, but could it be that my whole team only knows surprise attacks. That's a bit disappointing. Is there no one brave and strong enough to challenge me?" Hanabi said mockingly.

 _Who would fall for that?_ Tsubasa grumbled inwardly. Immediately afterward something green came out of a tree and planted itself right in front of the jonin.

"I AM" Metal shouted with a big grin.

Hanabi grinned as well, while Hinabachi simply groaned and Tsubasa slapped his hand over his eyes, silently of course.

"Sensei, I am going to get that scroll and you will train me" Metal said excitedly.

"Very good, I like your initiative, your teammates could learn something from you" Hanabi replied casually.

This comment did not sit well with Tsubasa. In his point of view Metal was reckless and careless. _Was she saying I should be like him? No way_.

"No worries, I'm sure in no time they will ignite the flames of their youth" Metal stated proudly. He made a stance, prepared to fight for the scroll. Hanabi replied to his enthusiasm by taking a stance as well, and for the first time since this test started, she attacked. Metal immediately blocked her palm strike.

Seeing the two different styles of taijutsu was fascinating. While the boy clad in green was focusing on blocks, punches and kicks, the jonin was mostly dodging, striking with open hands, like slaps, palm strikes and backhand strikes, and kicks as well. Metal's style looked destructive and impressive, while Hanabi's style was graceful and dance-like. Overall both were hitting at each other but none of them could seem to land a blow at the other. That was strange, why was the jonin taking so much time to deal with a genin? Until both Tsubasa and Hinabachi realised that there was only half an hour left.

Hinabachi could not get a clear shot at her sensei, Metal-kun was constantly moving around her making the young kunoichi unable to attack one without the other. She would have preferred to use the boy as distraction, not as bait, but it would seem that option has run out.

"Doton: Mud Pit" she said as she weaved the hand seals.

The ground below both fighters cracked, revealing a large pool of thick heavy mud. They sank into it until they were buried waist deep. Metal tried vainly to get out of it, but he could not move his feet. Neither of them could reach to the edge of that makeshift muddy pool and if they tried to use their hands on the mud they would only sink beneath as well.

Hanabi grinned.

This technique was a specialty in Iwa. A simple D-rank earth jutsu taught to new genin. Usually the new ninjas would use it to trap one of the feet of their opponent, unbalancing them, and finally attack them straight on. The radius and depth depended on the amount of chakra used while the density and stability of the mud required a very good chakra control; the better the control the thicker the mud. _That girl is amazing_ , thought the woman.

Metal began put his hands together to form a seal, he intended to gather chakra to his hands and slammed onto the mud hard enough to either lever his way out or remove the mud around him. Unfortunately for him Hinabachi was expecting something like that and promptly weaved new seals.

"Doton: Mud Binding Chains"

Strands of mud began to come out around the trapped shinobi. Like snakes, they slithered around their upper bodies and firmly attach themselves to the shoulders, elbows, wrists and necks. Metal's hand were forced apart. It did not stop there though; smaller strands came out from the mud that was on their wrists and slithered around their fingers, effectively locking them into immobility.

 _This is just getting better and better_ , Hanabi's grin grew even wider. _Chaining two different jutsu to make the first one supporting the other, and even taking into consideration the possibility of weapons and single-hand seals_. That was, without a doubt, a C-rank jutsu.

 _Metal is not doing badly either. Gathering chakra to his hands is easier than the feet but it is the same principal; using chakra as a pulling or pushing force. He will definitely improve if he learns to do that without the hand seal._ Hanabi's thoughts kept assessing the two. _So Hina-chan what are you going to do now? And where is our pretty boy?_

There was no movement. Hinabachi or Tsubasa were not coming out of their hiding place. Hanabi was tempted to use her Byakugan but decided she wanted to be surprised, she was eager to see what else her new students were planning to do.

Tsubasa appeared and was looking around carefully, opening his eyes and ears to any suspicious movements or sounds. He approached the jonin tentatively, and quickly plunged his left hand near her belt area, grabbed the scroll and pulled it out. He then jumped away from the two prisoners as if they could explode any second. Metal was glaring with clenched teeth during all of this. He was flailing around, trying to use pure physical strength to get out of the bindings. Hanabi was impressed that some of the mud began to crumble and break around him. That boy was ridiculously strong.

Suddenly as soon as Tsubasa turned around to leave the area, a big palm sized bee was flying and buzzing loudly in front of him with Hinabachi right behind it, her hands were forming a seal. She yelled "Hachi Senbon."

The bee aimed its abdomen at Tsubasa and fired a needle at him. Tsubasa tried to dodge but the needle pierced his right shoulder, right through his reinforced coat, numbing his arm. The boy ran in the opposite direction.

After a minute or so, he managed to put some distance from the scary girl and her big bees. The scroll was still firmly into his working hand. He gently pulled the needle out of his shoulder, gritting his teeth in pain. The numbness in his arm was slowly fading. He looked around for a place to hide. He heard some footsteps and saw Hinabachi coming out from behind a tree that was in front of him. _How did she get there so fast?_ he panicked.

"That was a bunshin. I do not wish to harm anyone more than necessary. Please give me the scroll" she said showing an opened hand.

Tsubasa replied angrily "Sorry, it's not my habit to refuse a girl, but this time it's too important for me to comply." He put his hands together, albeit with a bit of difficulty due to the earlier attack, and began to rapidly forming some seals. He disappeared in a distorted way, as if he was made of paint and his colours were swirling until only the background remained. The space around Hinabichi began to change; loud ominous sounds were hurting her sensitive ears, a strong cold wind began to blow, clouds were becoming black, and the forest around her was darkening. Hinabachi could feel the powerful genjutsu, but made no effort to fight it. She simply closed her eyes, and whispered audibly "Charge." The illusion faded completely. Before she even opened her eyes she could hear a voice screaming several times.

After her signal, dozens of bees flew from the trees around and charged at him. Tsubasa tried to get away, waving his arm around in panic, screaming in fear of getting stung by those ridiculously big insects. When a bee flew near his face, he instinctively tried to swap it with his hand, the same one that was holding the scroll. The scroll flew from his hand and landed on the ground a few metres from him, Tsubasa tried to get it back but the bees were flying around him, cutting his path.

Hinabachi swiftly run to the scroll, grabbed it and ran in a random direction hoping to be able to keep it with her until the time limit, which was in about 10 minutes. She relaxed believing she had won until a green blur appeared in front of her. It was Metal-kun, covered in mud.

"Please Hinabachi-san, give me the scroll. I don't want to fight you" Metal said politely but with a menacing tone.

"No, I need it" Hinabachi replied persistently. She bit into the scroll to free her hands, and began to form a hand seal. She barely had the time to complete the first seal when Metal threw his right fist in her direction. His punch collided into the tree behind her, right above her left shoulder.

The force of the attack, the loud noise of the tree trunk breaking and falling on the ground resounded in Hinabachi's ear. Shocked, her legs gave way until Metal's other hand came around her and held her, gently, at the back. The scroll fell out of her gaping mouth. He put her on the ground as softly as he could. While he was still holding her, his other arm, the one that obliterated the tree, took the scroll that was lying just between them. He then walked backward silently, not wishing to scare her even more.

Suddenly he felt dizzy, his vision became distorted, the trees and the ground around him began to sway as if he was on a boat in the middle of a rough sea. A female voice screeched in his ears, and he instinctively put his hands on his ear, dropping the scroll.

Tsubasa ran with his arm extended, and just when his hand was about to close in on the object, a long stream of shockwave hit it. It was like an air bullet but larger. The ground exploded into dust and the scroll flew in the air, spinning away from the boy, and it landed in a hand which lazily grabbed it.

Hanabi-sensei was now holding the scroll, but instead of the smile or grin that she was wearing all the time during the test, the look on her face was cold and serious. She opened her mouth and these dreadful words came out of it:

"Time's up. All three of you have failed"

* * *

 **Location: Several hundred miles from Konahagakure**

A tall man clad in a green sleeveless jumpsuit was standing on the border of a cliff, staring at the horizon with a wide grin, lost in thought.

"Oi, Lee. We're moving, come on" a man with two red fang shaped tattoos on his face said loudly to his teammate.

Rock Lee turned his back from the view, took his bulky backpack, and headed toward his team.

"He appears to be lost in thought" a man with pale skin said while putting on his trademark fake smile.

"Yeah, it happens sometimes but today it's like a constant thing. Is he sick?" Kiba asked Sai.

"Oh Kiba, I'm not surprised you're not aware since you are the only one here with no child" Sai said still smiling.

"Hey man, watch it. I just got married alright, and I'm not that eager to get a pup yet" Kiba replied angrily. "Besides, what's that got to do with anything?"

"Today is graduation day for both Inojin and Metal. They will be assigned to their teams today. I'm as happy as Lee and would very much like to get back home as soon as possible."

"Oh it's that time already. Do you think they will pass their final test?"

"Final test?" Sai said, no longer smiling.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you did not go to the Academy. You see after passing the exam, the jonin-sensei assigned to each team gives the graduates a test to see if the kids can work with others. If you fail, you have to go back to the Academy."

"I was not informed of that. But I think it will be fine, Inojin is most certainly in the same group as Shikadai and Chocho. And these three work very well together" Sai said his smile back on.

"What about your son, Lee?" Kiba asked the other man who had caught up to them in the middle of their conversation.

"Well, to be honest I did not really teach him to work with others. I mainly focused on improving his taijutsu training, and his strength and his speed" Lee said uncomfortably.

"Oh dear, he might leave his teammates in the dust" Sai exclaimed.

"What about Tenten? Did she not taught him about teamwork?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know. We do not talk much about our son's training. But it will be okay, both of us passed Gai-sensei's test, my son will pass his as well" he said confidently.

"Well, we'll find out eventually. With our pace, we should reach Konoha tomorrow" Sai said.

* * *

 **Location: Konohagakure, Hokage's office**

"YAWNNN" the big blond Hokage made a huge sound. "This sucks, why did graduation had to happen today?" Naruto said as he looked at the huge pile of documents on his desk.

He was currently alone in his office, his right-hand man had taken the day off to spend it with his son. Lucky him.

He sadly remembered that his own son was graduating today, and will become a genin under Konohamaru. The latter told him he will do the bell test to his team. Naruto grinned remembering his own catastrophic result the first time he did that test. He was not worried about Boruto though. The boy was popular in his class and got along well with the teammates he was assigned with. Sarada and him being childhood friends was a bonus, and Mitsuki was polite and respectful, something he definitely did not inherit from his father. _They'll be fine_.

He just felt a pang of guilt. Boruto would probably be angry if he won't be able to make it home tonight. Hinata told him she would make his son's favourite dishes, including her famous homemade ramen. The guilt turn to longing and regret. He was neglecting his family. His son being the most affected, took it in a terrible way, doing so many pranks to get his attention. His daughter on the other hand was understanding and would always greet him with a smile. She was abnormally kind and selfless, _she gets that from her mom_.

 _Hinata_ Naruto thought about his wife.

She had not changed, still loving him despite his absences and shortcomings. Thinking about the girls of his life made him feel worse. They were not blaming him, and were still affectionate towards him. He shook his head trying to stop this line of thought. That would solve nothing, it was his duty, and he would do it.

 _I'll try to finish before tonight_

* * *

 **Location: Konohagakure, Hospital Cafeteria**

Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, Karui, and Temari were on a lunch date. They had agreed to meet at the hospital cafeteria to make it easier for Sakura who could be called for an emergency at anytime.

"So we already know that Shikadai-kun and Chocho-chan will be on the same team but what about Sarada? Any guesses?" Sakura asked her friends.

"There are many students in their class Sakura-san, it might be a bit difficult to guess" Hinata replied.

"Couldn't you ask Naruto?" Tenten said.

"When I delivered his lunch, he just told me to wait until Boruto tells me himself. He believes it would make our son happy to give him the opportunity to surprise Himawari and me" Hinata replied warmly.

"He really cares for his boy, if only that brat could be as understanding as you or his sister" Karui said. Hinata smiled sadly. Karui did not like Boruto, probably due to his prank a few years ago, that involved the Inuzuka dogs, which ended up destroying half of her garden. Hinata had apologised profusely to the Akimichi family, and although Choji told her it was not that serious, Karui told her to discipline the boy severely. Hinata had to admit Boruto went too far on that one.

"Boruto behaves like all the boys of his age, they believe they're the centre of the world, and get angry if things don't go their way. It doesn't help that he has skills; a genius with no outlet becomes a nuisance. I should know, I have to deal with TWO lazy-ass geniuses and believe me it's not funny" Temari said with a frown, she was remembering all the effort it took just to get her son out of bed every morning. That was incredibly irritating. "You have no idea how lucky you are to have two early birds" she said to Tenten

"Hahaha, it's not as great as you think. They wake up at around 4:00 a.m. everyday. And they're very loud. I keep telling Metal to be quiet in the house and that it's rude, especially for the neighbours. But what I say seems to slip out of his head as soon as he hears the word 'train'. Now imagine when my husband starts talking, you just need to multiply all the noise by four. At this point I just want to go back to sleep" Tenten replied.

All the women laughed. Talking about their family quirks was very relaxing.

* * *

 **Location: Konohagakure, Kurama residence**

"Yakumo-sama, you have a visitor. Are you well enough to receive him?" Unkai asked as he knocked on the woman's bedroom door.

"Yes I am. Please let him in" the woman replied in a soft voice.

A tall blond man came in with a smile "How are you today Yakumo-chan?"

"Naruto-kun, you did not have to…" she started until he held up his hand, a sign for her to stop. He sat at the chair next to her bed.

"As Hokage, it is my responsibility to oversee all my ninjas, and your son becomes an official one today. Besides I'm a Kage Bunshin made to visit you specifically, so you should be proud to be the mother of a future great Konoha shinobi" he said to her. Yakumo smiled at the thought.

"I know, I even made him breakfast this morning. I wish I could have send him off."

"I think you already made his day then, any improvements on your part?"

Yakumo shook her head.

"No, I managed to wake up this morning, even cook, but as soon as I finished I felt dizzy. My husband had to carry me back to bed. I feel like such a burden" she said sadly.

"This again?"

"You know what Tsubasa wants to do with his life right?"

Naruto nodded "There's nothing wrong with that, Yakumo-chan."

"Yes it is wrong. A child should not spend his life for his mother. I wish he would do something for himself."

"Well, you did not ask him to save you. He wants to do it himself. It was his decision. I know the feeling of wanting to save someone who does not want to be saved, believe me, it takes a lot of strength. Being told I should give up will only make me angry" Naruto explained.

"It's different. I am happy with what I have right now. I married a wonderful man with whom I had a wonderful son. The same son who works hard while thinking of his family. I could not be prouder. I don't want more, that would be greedy."

"After everything that has happened to you, I think you could stand to be a bit greedy" Naruto said seriously. Yakumo looked at him sadly.

"I just want him to be happy"

"What makes you think saving you won't make him happy?"

Yakumo had no answer.

* * *

 **Location: Konohagakure, Aburame compound**

Since today was graduation day, Shino was allowed to return home early. He was agitated, a feeling that happened every year since he became an Academy teacher. On one hand he was proud and excited that his students had graduated, on the other he could imagine how several of them would look like when they return after failing, and that depressed him.

In his unbiased opinion, he knew that many of them had skills, but most of them had troubles working in teams. Throughout the year he taught them about several case studies of ninja going on dangerous mission, and how they succeeded by working together. But the only thing they learned were how awesome those ninjas were, not how they achieve these successes. Children were difficult.

As he sat down in his comfortable home kimono and sipped his tea, his thoughts went back to Hinabachi. He signed.

She was a good girl, with a logical, level-headed mind. She showed a degree of maturity and wisdom far beyond her years. Although the Aburame clan had no lingering rancour towards the Kamizuru clan, many were oppose to his guardianship of the girl. Only his father and grandfather's vehement comments about the world being at peace, that Konoha and Iwa were now allies, and that logic dictated no strong reason to refuse, persuaded the elders. Most were reluctant but they did wish to keep an open-mind, or keep the appearance that they kept an open-mind, so they've agreed to take the Kamizuru girl as their ward until further notice.

Those that approved, mainly his immediate family, welcomed the girl and even set up a small space for her in their huge garden, ideal for beekeeping. The girl was as stoic as the rest of them, but nonetheless she was very polite, respectful, and helpful. That did not sit completely well with Shino. He wanted her to feel safe here, like a home, but she often showed reticence and even signs of discomfort around them, even more with him, which made him feel… hurt.

His father, Kurenai-sensei, and even Hinata told him that it will take time for her to adjust, especially to him. He just needed to be patient. Even though Shino had a lot of experience teaching kids, he had none when it came to raising them. _Who knew that patience could be so difficult?_ he thought grimly.

* * *

Author's note: Please review. If you are curious about Boruto and his team, there is a manga about that. It was hilarious.


	4. Chapter 4: Failures

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 4: Failures

* * *

 _All 3 of you have failed_

Those words resounded into the Metal's head. He had failed. He had shamed his father, his master. When his mother would learn of his failure, she would undoubtedly be disappointed. Metal was in denial. _No that can't be. I worked so hard. I trained so hard. What did I miss? Why?_ He was continuously thinking about what was happening. Was that it? Did his time as a genin lasted only a few hours? Will he really have to return to the Academy for a whole year of makeup classes?

The other two children were not looking any better as the 4 of them slowly walked back to the clearing.

The jonin hadn't said anything since the announcement. The three genin had tried to argue but she simply ignored them and kept walking. They realised they would not get any answer at that moment and merely followed her.

When they reached the clearing, the jonin sat down on the trunk once again when they first came, but said nothing. She merely looked at them with that same cold expression. It scared them.

"So?" the woman said to the trio. They looked at her, confused.

"Ask your questions, one at a time."

The kids looked at each other but hesitated, they did not know how to handle this situation. After the silent treatment Hanabi-sensei, -san, had inflicted upon them, they had the time to calm down and realise their position. Any previous argument they could come up with had already an answer: they had not succeeded in getting the scroll.

"There…" Hinabachi started. She clenched her eyes and said rapidly "there was no feasible way we could have acquired the scroll, or even retained it if we had managed to. You are too strong. What chance did we had, us, ninjas who just became genin, to defeat a jonin?"

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'defeat'?" Hanabi interrupted her "I don't remember that the test was to 'defeat' me"

"It's the same thing" Tsubasa said while looking away "How else could we have obtained the scroll? I tried to sneak around and get it, but it did not work. If direct confrontation was not the going to work, how else could we have done it?"

Metal nodded, for the first time approving of what Tsubasa has just said.

Hanabi's expression turned from serious to angry. They recoiled from her. "You brats are nothing but hypocrites. If you could not figure something like this out, then none of you are suited to be ninjas."

They looked at her, horrified by her words. She continued "Has none of you understood why, despite the differences, despite being strangers, despite the fact that some of you do not even get along, why you were put in teams?" They began to think.

"What chance did WE had? How could WE have obtained the scroll? How should WE have done it? You guys don't know the definition of 'we'. In all those questions, it would have been more accurate to say 'I'" she chastised them. They started to get the picture.

"But you said… you said that you would take only one student. That the ones who did not obtain the scroll will fail" Metal said desperately.

"I suggest you try to remember my exact words. I never said I would take any one of you as my disciple. I merely stated the benefits of becoming my only student, not that I would grant that privilege to anyone. I also said that the one who would be holding the scroll would pass, did I ever said that only 1 of you could have the scroll in his or her hand? Or that only 1 of you could pass?"

"But you implied …" Hinabachi started.

"Underneath the underneath." Hanabi interrupted her again. "Something that every ninja must keep in mind. Do you believe that you will be given all the information from any mission? That your enemies will tell you their weaknesses? That there are obvious signs that indicate the location of every hidden targets? Baka!"

"I purposefully told you this information to sow confusion, distraction and dissemination between you. Something many opponents do to give them the advantage against enemy groups. If it was a real mission, you would all be dead. The key to overcome this problem: …"

She looked at each one of them so that they remember this lesson for the rest of their lives.

"Teamwork"

The genin looked away shamefully. She then hold the scroll horizontally with both hands, each one of them on the circular borders of the cylindrical object, and asked them "Tell me, is there enough space between my hands for another one to hold this right now?"

They looked at said object, but said nothing. If all three of them had hold the scroll that way, they would have probably passed. But none had thought to do so.

"Not only were you guys too concerned about how this test would benefit you alone but you even went as far as to attack each other" Hanabi said after dropping the scroll in front of them. "It does not matter if the reason for you to become a ninja is important, you cannot accomplish something so difficult alone. You need the help and support of others, be it directly or indirectly, to become someone of such high calibre.

"Only someone who can work with others will be acknowledged by the village. Only someone who understand that there are things they cannot do, without the help of others, will be accepted by the people. The ones who cannot trust their own comrades for whatever reason will never be trusted to protect or save anyone. No one will ever want their help. Therefore they have no future as a shinobi"

"Remember that when you return to the Academy" she said finally before turning around in the direction of the village.

"PLEASE WAIT" Metal yelled back. The woman turned around until she faced him. He fell on his knees, and bowed until his head touched the ground.

"Please" he said with a deep respectful tone "give us another chance."

All 3 people were staring at him. Hanabi waited.

"I know we have failed the test, and we have disappointed you, who were willing to teach us to become better. But please give us another chance. Let us prove to you that we can do it, that we can become a team that you would proudly acknowledge."

Hinabachi looked at the boy with the bowl cut. She felt bad, here was another person who was helping her, without her knowing how to repay him. Since she had no idea what to do, she simply did whatever she could think of in this situation. She went to the left where Metal was and bowed on the ground, reflecting his position.

"Logically, there should be no reason for you to give us another chance. But I want you to know that we are willing to do anything you ask us to do so that we may continue being genin" she pleaded to the jonin who showed no reaction.

"You could simply try again next year" she said monotonously.

"Next year might be too late, there is something I must achieve no matter what" Tsubasa intercepted as he quickly went to Hinabachi's side and bowed the same way as the two. "Since our reasons do not matter, I can only beg you to forgive our failure and give us another chance. Because our reasons are our motivations. Let they at least motivate us to learn to work together."

Hanabi was observing the three of them, processing their words and reading their body languages. They were helpless and desperate, but sincere. _In that case; let's put them through another test_.

"Very well. I will give you another chance" she said to them seriously.

They looked at her with hope and gratitude.

"First stop your bowing." They scrambled on their feet and took a sitting position.

"I'll give you another test. This time no questions will be allowed. You listen and you do it. It will up to you to figure out how to achieve the best result." They looked at her and waited, listening to every single word. This time they will succeed, they had to.

"Written in this scroll," she started while looking at the object in question "is an important piece of information that I want. Your task is to choose who gets to read it aloud."

They stared at her, completely confused. What kind of test was that?

"The one who will read that information will fail. In summary: only one of you three must read the scroll, the other two can just listen to him or her. The one who fails will return to the Academy, the other two will get a new teammate. If none of you read the information, you will all fail." she concluded.

The 3 genin were looking at the object they so desperately fought to obtain just a few moments ago. They were horrified. This was like a suicide mission; their aim was to designate who will die so that the other two may live.

"Well I'm off for lunch. You three stay here and give me your answer when I return. There is a seal on that scroll that will inform me when it's broken, so that I will know that you've made your choice" the woman said to them as she walked away from them.

"Good luck" they heard from a distance.

They stayed quiet for a while.

Metal was sitting cross-legged and cross-armed, still staring at the scroll.

Hinabachi was sitting on her legs, with her chin in the right hand while the other was touching her right elbow.

Tsubasa was lying on his back, staring at the clouds. With a hand at the back of his head while the other was playing with one of his long bangs.

 _What are we going to do?_ They all thought. None of them wanted to repeat a year.

"So…" Metal started "you guys have a plan?"

"I cannot think of any possible solution that will spare all of us" Hinabachi said in a serious tone.

"So it's really a suicide mission, eh" Tsubasa said as closed his eye, anxiety and despair were flowing through him.

"What if we capture someone, pretend it's an enemy, have him read it and then we all tell sensei the information?" Metal suggested hopefully.

"This plan does not fulfil the requirement that one of us must be the reader. She said and I quote: If none of you read the information, you will all fail. Therefore one of us has to read it" Hinabachi explained calmly.

"OK, then how about…" Metal started, clearly struggling to think of something. "How about we use Kage Bunshin to read the information. That way the one who will die will just be a bunshin, right?"

"Do any of you know this technique?" Hinabachi inquired honestly. No one answered.

"Then…" Metal started.

"Enough you idiot! Can't you put this in your head already? There is no other way. One of us has to sacrifice himself so the other two can pass" Tsubasa shouted angrily. He was pissed. Not at Metal, but at all that was happening. He was exhausted from the fight earlier, his future hanged in balance, he could be sacrificed by those two for all he know, and that hothead was not coming up with anything good, not that it was surprising.

"At least I'm thinking" interjected the tall youth. "I don't see you coming up with anything."

"You're _thinking_? Since when have you THOUGHT about anything in your life besides working out and hitting things?"

"And you? You're nothing but a wuss who only thinks of girls and his looks. Why did you even bother with all this? Out of all the people in the class you have the least motivation into becoming a ninja, otherwise you would have worked harder."

Tsubasa stood up glaring at him, he felt a strong urge to rip the idiot's mouth apart. He immediately started weaving a hand seal. The latter stood up as well and put his guard up.

"You think you have a chance. You've never beaten me because you don't have a chakra control good enough to dispel any genjutsu" the green haired boy sneered him.

"Before your genjutsu can even start affecting me, you will already be on the ground with a black eye" Metal responded, anger twisting his features.

Hinabachi, who was sitting between them, had been quietly listening to their conversation. Based on what they have said, there was no actual animosity between them. In fact both of them had an incomplete, probably even biased, image of each other. They both have made up their minds that the other was the worst kind of person based on appearances instead of in-depth research. This was supposed to be a norm for teenagers.

But they were not regular teenagers, they were ninjas. They would have to learn to mature quickly and put aside those childish behaviours in order to achieve success in all their missions. Their lives could be on the line after all.

Hinabachi could not exactly lecture them though. She had her own shortcomings. The fact that she failed the first test had been a testament to that. She realised that if she wanted to go back to Iwa, she has to become an exemplary Konoha ninja first. These two were not strangers, not anymore, they were her teammates. She has made so much effort into remembering the lessons from the adults in Iwa, that she had somehow ignored the advices the adults, and jonin, of this new village had been telling her.

 _Iwa and Konoha are allies. Their leaders are on friendly terms, having fought side-by-side during the war. They have a relationship based on trust, otherwise Tsuchikage-sama would not have sent me here. I must be the same with them_ the girl thought rationally.

"I am not from Konoha" she began talking, looking straight in front of her, as if there was someone else with them.

The two boys looked at her, so surprised that they forgot they were fighting.

"I was born in Iwagakure where I was, up till recently, working as a genin."

"Wait, WHAT?" Metal exclaimed, even more surprised. Tsubasa was looking at her with an open mouth.

Hinabachi looked at Metal calmly. "I said I was not from Konoha…" she began answering his query.

"Nonono, not that" Metal waved ones hand from side to side to interrupt her reply. "I mean you're a genin from Iwa?"

"Yes. For a few weeks."

"Then why are you here? Why are you not in a team back there?"

"My mother… passed away" she said sadly with only a slight movement in her thin eyebrows. The boys' expression changed from surprise to horror and sadness respectively. Metal was dismayed that he made her say those words and Tsubasa felt compassion towards her.

"I had… no other relatives, and… my clan, the Kamizuru clan, was looked down upon by the ninja community in Iwa. Something that happened a long time ago made them think that my clan produced unreliable and weak ninjas. My ex-teammates and I were… civil towards each other but they actively… disregarded my opinions regardless of my skills. The… my sensei thought that in order for me to realise my whole potential, I should immigrate to another hidden village. I initially refused, I did not wish to leave the house where I grew up. I did not really mind the discrimination. They mainly came from the ninjas after all, and my mother was a civilian, she had friendly relationships with many other civilians."

"What about your father? You did not mention him" Tsubasa interrupted her. Usually he would consider such a query rude, but he felt he needed to ask. He was someone who treasured his family the most, and he did not think he could handle losing either of his parents. Yet here was a girl who went through what he would call his worst nightmare.

"He…" she hesitated. "He… I… I don't want to talk about him. I'm sorry" Hinabachi looked down.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I asked. That was rude of me" Tsubasa quickly apologised.

"No, it was a logical question to ask when listening to such a story" Hinabachi reassured him. Tsubasa felt strangely relieved.

"As I was saying, I initially refused to leave Iwa, but my sensei insisted, and said it was also a good opportunity to assess how Konoha's ninja training system faired compared to Iwa. Also civilian moving from one village to the other might be a common occurrence, but an active ninja from one of the main villages immigrating to another main village was unheard of. I made several other objections but they were all rejected, so I was forced to come here, and have to remain, until I achieve a promotion. That was the condition my sensei made." She took a deep breath.

"I need to become stronger so that I can return home" she said in a tone that concluded her story.

"So that's your reason for wanting to become a chunin?" Metal asked in an uncharacteristically soft tone.

Hinabachi nodded. What she said was the truth, but not in its entirety. She could not reveal the other details of that story, if it leaked out it could be dangerous for her, and especially the people who helped her. She would trust these two boys but little by little.

"Wh… why are you telling us all of this?" Tsubasa asked hesitantly.

"Because… I believe that we should listen to each other before we come to any kind of conclusion" the girl replied encouragingly. "It's as you said; our reasons should not interfere with our mission but become our motivation."

Tsubasa was impressed she remembered his words, words that he spouted in the moment, so well.

"I want to hear why you two want to become stronger" Hinabachi asked.

The boys looked at each other. Their quarrel already forgotten. Both were hesitant until Tsubasa closed his eyes and took a deep audible breath.

"My mother is sick" he simply said as he exhaled. His teammates looked at him; Metal had his mouth open a little at that last word while Hinabachi's expression was neutral. He was very uncomfortable telling them this but the girl had opened up to him, it would be unfair to not to do the same, if a little bit.

"It's a heart disease with no known cure" he continued ignoring the expressions of his audience. He wanted to tell all of this quickly and get it over with. "Sometimes she is healthy enough to go out while other times she has to remain in bed. On rare occasions her heart begins to hurt so badly, we have to call Tsunade-sama or Uchiha-sensei herself to come. However they cannot cure my mother completely, they don't know how to, no one in the world knows how to. The reason I want to become a medical ninja is because I want to find a cure for my mother's condition. The first requirement to become a medical ninja is of course to have the potential for it. I've already checked with the medical school that I do."

"However I have to become more than just a medical ninja, I have to become a specialist. For that I need a complete mastery over the basic medical ninjutsu. Then I need to be able to apply those techniques on the field. Missions that require a medical ninja are usually given to chunin and jonin so I have to become one first. Once I complete a certain amount of high ranked mission, I will have the pre-requisite experience to enter a specialised field. This, in turn, will allow me to enter the advanced course at the medical school which focuses on complex diseases and high level medical operations. That course is currently taught by Tsunade-sama. To find the cure will take me years, so I want to start as soon as possible" Tsubasa concluded.

There was an awkward silence.

 _I guess he's not so carefree after all_ thought Hinabachi.

Metal walked to Tsubasa and stared at him right in the eye with the most serious expression Tsubasa ever saw him made. He then threw himself on the ground, in the same position when he pleaded to Hanabi.

"I'M SORRY, TSUBASA-KUN" he shouted loudly. Tsubasa was dumbfounded.

"I NEVER KNEW YOU CARRIED SUCH BURDENS. I TAKE BACK ALL I SAY ABOUT YOU CARING ONLY FOR TRIVIAL THINGS"

The atmosphere grew even more awkward. Tsubasa was blushing in embarrassment, grateful that they were not in public at the moment.

"Metal do me a favour and stop yelling, I can hear you just fine" Tsubasa replied.

"WHAT? I AM APOLOGISING TO YOU AND THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY" Metal shouted as he stood up quickly.

"Although he could have been more polite about it, he is correct about you being too loud" Hinabachi interjected. Metal looked at her.

"You should refrain from it. It's a bad habit that could get you, and us, into trouble, especially for a ninja. But I truly like your enthusiasm and honesty so keep those traits at least" she said wisely.

Metal blushed a little. She was so serious it was difficult NOT to believe her.

"Well then, what is your reason for becoming stronger? I believe you said your dream was to become stronger than Might Gai."

Metal looked away. He was not keen into sharing his reason because…

"My reason for becoming stronger is not as important as the both of yours. You'll find it stupid" he said embarrassed.

Tsubasa frowned at him. He always had an unflattering opinion of that boy so this should not have surprised him but what he said left a bad taste in his mouth, perhaps it was due to his apology. Metal had many faults but he was still a good guy. Before he could say anything, Hinabachi replied

"How about you tell us first, then we will tell you whether we find it trivial? I promise to give you an honest opinion."

Metal looked at both of them, then at the ground.

"I want to become the strongest taijutsu fighter in the world" he said before pausing.

"I was born with a condition similar to my father's. It's not a disease. I just can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. I can mould and control my chakra normally and my reserves are big as well thanks to my training, but my chakra coils are so small that I cannot use even the most basic ninjutsu. I was told that those coils will grow alongside my body but that's it. I cannot make them bigger through training."

Tsubasa looked at the boy in a new way. He heard the rumours in the Academy about Metal not capable of using ninjutsu or genjutsu but he thought he was simply not suited to be a ninja. Unlike many who mocked the boy for his inability, Tsubasa was indifferent to Metal's predicament. However, hearing that Rock Lee, the greatest taijutsu master in Konoha, went through the same thing, he wondered if this boy had more potential than he initially assumed.

"So I focus on taijutsu just like my father and I enjoy it a lot. I feel so alive when I train and fight. However when I spar with him I can feel the huge gap between us. My father is so strong that he makes me feel that catching up is impossible, but people have been praising me about how I am like an exact replica of my father and that I will become as strong as him when I grow up. It felt good at first, but I could not help but feeling… sad" Metal said bowing his head in shame.

"Why?" Tsubasa asked.

"Because I don't want to be just like my father" he looked back at his teammates and quickly said "Don't get me wrong, I am proud of him. I am proud to be his son. And I am proud that people thinks I am going to grow to be just like him but…"

He looked away again, breathing heavily. The others patiently wait for him to finish.

"But I don't want to be just that. I want to be more than just Rock Lee's son. I want people to address me by my name while thinking 'he's the strongest fighter in the world'. I guess I'm just scared of becoming nothing but a copy" he finished still in a sad voice.

Before anyone could say anything he added quickly "So you see? It's a stupid reason. Unlike you two I haven't lost anything or wanting to save someone, I'm just a… a…"

An opened hand appeared in front of his face, signalling him to stop. Hinabachi was looking at him, her stoicism unchanged.

"That last part was unnecessary. In my honest opinion, your reason is not worse than ours in any way. There is nothing shameful in aiming to become someone great" she said as he listened to her every word.

"'To become the strongest fighter in the world' is a laudable goal, it is not easy, and like ours, will likely take a long time to achieve but it is admirable. You are someone who will not contend himself with his current abilities, despite the opinions of others, and will constantly take the path of self-improvement. I could tell you stories of many great warriors who stopped improving themselves when they reached a certain point in their lives, and believe me, most of them end up in an abysmal situation. Do not compare yourself to us. I know the pain of losing a loved one well enough to not wish it upon anyone, not even my enemies. I am not someone who will look down on you because he did not go through the same hardships as me" she paused.

"My mother once told me "To wish misfortune on someone who did nothing to you will only result in your own misery." She wanted me to understand that being envious of someone else's life will only result in making me feel like a terrible person. So I decided to just work on the life which I was fortunate enough to have. That is not so different from you, right?"

The boys both looked at her in wonder. They never thought of life in such a deep way. They all stayed silent for a while, thinking about what their teammate had just said.

"I'm sorry" Tsubasa said in a barely audible voice.

Metal looked up. The green-haired boy was looking away, his bangs covering his eyes.

"I was angry at you because I did not like how excited you always looked. I felt that, unlike me, you had no troubles in your life. That unlike me, who keeps thinking about what he could lose, you would never lose anything. And I hated myself for feeling that way, so I took it out on you."

Metal said nothing, he thought that way about Tsubasa as well. Perhaps a bit less though. The silence was getting more and more awkward. _God, make it stop_ thought Tsubasa.

"Now that we have cleared this animosity between us, can anyone think of any ideas on how we should tackle this last test? I'm afraid we are almost out of time" Hinabachi said as she looked at the scroll still on the ground.

The two boys turned and looked at the damn thing as well. They had completely forgotten about that.

"I cannot think of anything but the worst option: someone has to sacrifice himself" Tsubasa said.

"I'll do it" Metal said fiercely, frowning at the scroll.

"What?" Tsubasa said, his anger surfacing.

"I said 'I'll do it'. I'll read the scroll so that the two of you can pass" he said as he bend down, his hand reaching for the scroll. Before he could even touch it, Tsubasa grabbed his wrists firmly, stopping him.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you really think that I will accept that?" Tsubasa said loudly.

"Both of you have something important to do. Mine can wait another year. I can still train and get stronger" Metal replied loudly as well.

"Stop it the both of you. Metal, do not use our reasons for your decision" Hinabachi interjected. The boys once again looked at her. "Hanabi-sensei said so herself; our reasons do not matter, we should not let them affect any mission."

"But there is no other way to pass" Metal said as Tsubasa released him.

"Suppose we do let you sacrifice yourself, would that not defeat the purpose of this test? I mean I have read past mission reports where ninjas bravely sacrificed themselves to ensure success, but remember what sensei said "This is a test, not a mission, rules and manners have to be followed." This test is about teamwork. I do not think sacrificing a teammate shows that, do you?"

There was a brief pause.

"You're right, but what is the solution then. How can we pass this?" Tsubasa asked.

There was no answer. Hinabachi was still thinking but could not find anything.

"Always do what you believe is right" Metal said in a low tone, eyes closed in thought.

"What?" "Sorry?" the other two said at the same time.

"I'm sure either of your parents has told you something like that" he said while grinning.

They thought and nodded with a smile, remembering this popular sentence, or something similar, almost every parent said to their children at some point in their lives. It was a sappy thought.

"What does that have to do with now?" Tsubasa asked.

"Well, we cannot come up with anything, and we won't be okay if either one of us decide to take the fall, right?" he asked to the other two.

They nodded.

"Then let us do what we believe is right" he said with a smile.

"Do we all think the same thing to be right?" Tsubasa asked.

"I believe we do. Based on our interaction thus far, I think we all have the same opinion on what is right. I could be wrong though. Since what I think is right might not sit well with either of you" Hinabachi said.

"Same here" Tsubasa said.

"Me too" Metal said with a wide grin. "Alright then let's just follow our gut on this one. I want to say though; I'm really glad to have you two as my teammates"

Hinabachi nodded. Tsubasa smirked. Both thought the same thing.

They heard someone approaching. Hanabi was walking towards them.

Unbeknownst to either of them, she had concealed her presence and watched their entire conversation but did not listen, hoping they could still surprise her. _Let's see if they've learned_ she thought.

She sat down on the log again and looked at them critically, with that same serious face from before.

"So" she started "what is the information?"

All three children look at each other, then the green-haired boy and the girl looked at their last teammate and smile encouragingly at him. _Oh no, don't tell me they chose him_.

The boy in question picked up the scroll and gave it to her with a wide grin. He saluted and said "Sorry ma'am. I'm afraid we have failed."

"Explain" Hanabi asked hopefully.

"MA'AM. None of us were willing to sacrifice a teammate. We thought a lot but nothing came up. Since none of us has opened the scroll and read the information, we have failed your test. We now await your judgement."

"So all of you are okay to go back to the Academy for another year? Did you not have something important to do?" she inquired, frowning at them.

"Sensei, none of us want to go back. But none of us want to sacrifice someone else either. So this is the best we could come up with" Tsubasa said to her.

The jonin studied them, their faces, and their body language. Metal looked nervous, he was starting to sweat. Hinabachi looked down, not wanting to look at her in the eyes. And Tsubasa looked up, eyes closed, like he was waiting for his execution.

Hanabi smiled warmly "Congratulations Team 11, you pass."


	5. Chapter 5: Dumplings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and never will. Stop asking!

Chapter 5: Dumplings

* * *

Metal looked dumbfounded.

Hinabachi had her usual neutral expression.

Tsubasa, with a raised eyebrow, looked like he was being conned.

 _We passed?_ they thought together.

Hanabi was still smiling at them, amused by their disbelief. She put her chin in a hand and patiently waited until they snapped out of their trance.

"Explain" Hinabachi asked in a perfect imitation of Hanabi.

Said woman chuckled. _This girl is so serious it's funny_ she thought.

"What is there to explain? You passed the test. From now on you will be known as Team 11 or Team Hanabi, whichever you prefer."

"But how come we passed?" Tsubasa inquired.

"Yeah, I mean, did you not say that if we did not give you the information we would fail the test?" Metal added.

"Perhaps you'll understand better if you read what's inside the scroll" Hanabi said to her three students as she handed over the object back to Metal.

Metal took it and looked at his teammates who nodded at him.

Metal opened the scroll and found the 'important' piece of information inside, a single sentence that read: 'You have all failed'

They looked at the words then back at her, confused. Until Hinabachi spoke.

"I see. The aim of the test was to determine if we were willing to sacrifice one of our teammates in order to succeed. In case that would happen, we would have failed the test as we would not have demonstrate any ability to work with others."

Hanabi said nothing, she merely smiled.

"So this is a test that was meant for us to fail?" Tsubasa asked.

"Not quite" the young girl clarified. "I believe the key was to accept failure together. To pass this test we had to fail it as a team. Any alternative would have resulted in complete failure"

"What a twisted way of thinking" Tsubasa said directly to Hanabi's grinning face.

"Twisted? You're a shinobi. If you find this kind of test 'twisted', then I'm afraid you're in for a bad time from now on" Hanabi replied. She then explained further.

"Hinabachi is correct. The only way to actually pass the test was for the three of you to accept failure and eventual punishment as a team. As you keep progressing on the path of your choice, you will face more and more difficult challenges. The important part is to not lose yourself on the way and forget what truly matters."

"There are many missions that have succeeded due to the sacrifices of others. Those very ninjas are honoured as heroes and viewed as an example to be followed, but not because they died. But because they have embraced, from the deepest part of their hearts, the Will of Fire. Do you know what the Will of Fire is?"

"HAI" Metal shouted enthusiastically. He then cleared his throat.

"The Will of Fire is an ideal which states that the entire village is family. Every Konoha shinobi with the Will of Fire should believe, love, and fight to protect, not just their clans, but the village as a whole. It is a philosophy passed down from generation to generation so that it becomes an eternal reminder of what was done and what was lost to achieve peace. This is what gives Konohagakure the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building willpower and strength of character" recited the boy from memory.

Metal had his fist clenched, with tears pouring from his closed eyes, visibly moved by his own words. Neither of his teammates had changed their previous expressions.

Tsubasa heard this speech many times from Shino-sensei but never truly paid attention to it. He interpreted it as someone lecturing him about not caring for anyone but himself. He thought that they were telling him that he should stop thinking about his family and focus more on the village. That's why he hated it. He believed that Konohagakure would not hesitate to sacrifice his family for the benefit of the whole village.

When he told his mother this thought, on the day he heard it for the first time, she was angry. Not the annoyed kind of angry, but real anger. He remembered her shaking her head with a frown and the disappointment in her voice when she told him how wrong he was.

Tsubasa could count on one hand the times his mother was angry like that. It scared him. That's why from that day he kept his opinions of the Will of Fire to himself. Due to these thoughts, he discarded the notion and stopped paying attention whenever it was mentioned. He did not understand his mother's explanation.

Until now.

After fighting for his goal by himself, failing due to his defeat, and Metal's willingness to sacrifice himself for his cause; he understood. It was not about sacrifice, but trusting and supporting each other. By helping others, he will in turn receive help. 'You cannot accomplish something important on your own' was what Hanabi-sensei said to them, and she was right. Tsubasa will need all the help he could get to cure his mother. There should be no reason for others to help him unless he helped them as well; proving that he cared about others will eventually make others cared about him. The weight of his goal suddenly felt less burdensome.

Metal, on the other hand, did not interpret it the same way.

He thought that the Will of Fire was a legacy passed down from great ninjas to the next generation. He remembered Gai-sama telling him about his incredible fight against his last enemy, how he was more than ready to 'become nutrients for the new leaves'. Metal was inspired, and wanted to find something so important that he would be willing to sacrifice his life for it. He believed that this will help him become stronger, like his father once told him he found strength when protecting his village including his mother and him.

Both of the boys did not notice that they had understood two different halves of the Will of Fire.

 _So that is the infamous Will of Fire of Konohagakure_ Hinabachi thought. She was starting to feel nostalgic, remembering a conversation she did not thought about since leaving Iwagakure.

* * *

Location: Iwagakure (1 year ago)

It was the Academy's annual visit to the Tsuchikage Tower, the tallest, largest building in Iwa. Each year the last year students were allowed to visit this place as part of their education before becoming genin. The many children were excited because the Tsuchikage herself was guiding them. They visited the non-confidential areas and rooms. The visit started in the main hall, the place where the Stone Monument was located. The Tsuchikage proudly explained to the future Iwa shinobi the symbolism of that relic but no one actually understood.

On the top floor was a very big room with large windows that oversaw the outside and inside including main hall. That was the Tsuchikage's resting place, and presently in that room was Onoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage. He was seated in a large comfortable chair that was ideal for his back. He watched and listened attentively to his granddaughter and the children below, observing the next generation while sipping tea. Onoki was proud that his eyesight and his hearing was as good as ever despite his age. The only other presence in the room were his two personal ANBU bodyguards, they were watching the small group along with him.

Onoki was disappointed to see that these children, like many of their predecessors, did not comprehend the concept of the Will of Stone. However he was hardly better. He remembered when he was a genin and when the First himself taught him about it. He became as enlightened as the stone he spent the whole day polishing, to just to end up in the basin surrounding the Monument. In other words, he did not get it. Onoki chuckled at the memory, the ANBU glanced at him wondering what was going on through their master's head.

The group of children found no real interest in the Monument. For them it was a simple sculpture made of rock with a vulgar normal stone on top. Some children actually asked if that stone was put there as a prank since the contrast between it and the sculpted object was obvious. Kurotsuchi merely snickered, amused by the children's confusion. She held up her hand, and a stone that was lying in the water levitated right into it. That got the children's attention, they were impressed by the jutsu of their village leader, wondering if she's going to do something else. The Tsuchikage merely grinned as she took the rock atop the Monument with her other hand and threw it in the pond while putting the new one in its place. She then looked at the children and her grin widened at their confused face. She could almost see the question mark symbols floating above their heads and resisted the urge to laugh.

Onoki sighed at her granddaughter's antics, she was not taking this as seriously as she should but could not really blamed her since the children had obviously demonstrated no interest or understanding of the village philosophy. The old man could not help feel a bit sad, wondering if this era of peace would result in the loss of the last generation's teachings. His mind wandered as the children began to yell excitedly at what the Tsuchikage had just said; they were going to the courtyard and she is going to teach them a new jutsu. Onoki chuckled once more.

 _Oh well, it doesn't matter. We have fought so hard to obtain this peace, I should not complain. Besides it's nice to see the young ones having fun and being so carefree_ he thought casually. He was starting to remember the ninjas that died during the fourth war.

His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that one child was left behind. He glanced at the group that was heading to the courtyard, they did not appear to have noticed her absence. Onoki looked back at the child once more. She was wearing a large coat that completely obscured her neck. She had reddish brown hair and a slender build, and was focusing intently on the Monument.

Onoki could not help but be intrigued. Was this girl staying behind to attract attention? Or…

He waited for about a quarter an hour, the girl had not moved nor had she glanced around her to see if there was anyone nearby. She was still observing the Monument as if it was the only thing that mattered to her. Onoki knew that a normal child would not behave like that and grew intrigued. He used his gravity jutsu to fly towards the girl, while still seated. His ANBU merely disappeared in blurs. When Onoki reached the child, she did not acknowledge his presence, still contemplating the object of her attention. His guards reappeared next to him.

"What are you thinking about, child?" he asked in a low voice.

The girl jumped at the sound of his voice and looked at him, instantly recognising this elderly man. She bowed deeply before closing her eyes and putting her hand on her lips, thinking how to properly answer the question. Onoki waited patiently.

"I am thinking about what Tsuchikage-sama said, and was wondering if my interpretation was accurate" she replied in a tone that matched his own.

Onoki looked at the girl, she was not speaking like a child. Although she still had a childlike voice, her words were too mature for her age. "Tell me your understanding of the Will of Stone, will you?" he requested.

"Hai" she said respectfully. "In my point of view, the Will of Stone's purpose is to compare the Iwa shinobi to the rock on top of this pedestal. I have read about the different symbolism of rocks and among them is the indomitable spirit. I conclude that to be a true Iwa shinobi, one must endure all hardships that is thrown at him, and never yield to them. However I do not understand why Tsuchikage-sama replaced the rock with another."

Onoki observed the girl attentively. She had managed to understand the Will of Stone but not in its entirety. She was also thinking deeply about the concept and her thinking process could rival an adult. Not bad.

"You are correct when you say that a shinobi is one who endures. The Will of Stone states that when you reach a major obstacle in your life, you must never abandon your will. Giving up is easy, but facing adversity with all your being is exemplary. If you abandon your will when hitting a wall, you'll start making excuses for everything, and will obtain nothing but hatred, for others and for yourself. You must always move forward without ever forsaking your will. Do you understand?"

She looked at him uncomfortably. "I'm sorry Sandaime, I don't see the difference between what I said and what you told me. Isn't 'enduring' and 'never abandoning your will' the same thing?"

Onoki laughed good-heartedly "They do have some similarities, but it's not quite the same. I believe you will fully understand the Will of Stone the same way I did; when you reach a terribly difficult point in your life, and when you must make a choice. As for your question as to why my granddaughter replaced the stone, it is simple. Because it's just a stone, indistinguishable to the other stones in this basin."

Hinabachi tried to comprehend that last statement. If the stone was supposed to represent a single shinobi and his will, and if it was so easily replaced, what could it meant. She then walked to the part of the basin where the previous stone had been thrown, there were dozens of rocks similar to it. There was no way she could find the original one, provided it had not been replaced by another beforehand. Did that mean that every ninja was expendable and could be easily replaced? No that couldn't be it. Even if the stone was thrown, it was thrown into the basin. The Tsuchikage had taken a stone at random from that basin, this meant that a previously thrown stone could found its way back to the pedestal anytime. Then…

"It doesn't matter who you are, you don't have be someone special or extraordinary. Every shinobi in the village is a stone, as such each and every one of us has the strength to endure and to preserve one's will" she thought out loud. She suddenly realised what she said and who was with her, flushed with embarrassment she turned to the Tsuchikage to apologise but couldn't.

Because said man was laughing.

A very powerful laugh.

Onoki could not contain it. He had been grinning all the time during her thought process. It was entertaining to watch that young girl thinking so seriously about something that eluded him in his childhood, and coming up with the answer so naturally. He was starting to like her.

"What is your name?" he asked after calming down.

She hesitated for a few seconds but then she straightened herself and said with a proud voice "I am Kamizuru Hinabachi, sir. It is an honour to be in your presence" she replied bowing once more.

* * *

 _The Will of Stone and the Will of Fire_ Hinabachi thought.

She was thinking if she had to adopt both in order to achieve her goals. To become a recognised shinobi of Konohagakure, she needed the Will of Fire, but since she had no intention of severing her ties to Iwagakure, she also needed the Will of Stone. Both of them were important to their respective leaders. _It seems I have a lot of work ahead of me_.

"Any other question?" her jonin teacher asked.

Tsubasa wanted to protest a little more but that would be too immature, so he simply shook his head.

"HAI, SENSEI" Metal shouted with a raised hand. "Are you going to teach us new techniques?"

"I will, but you have to prove you are not only capable but also worthy, got it?"

"HAI!"

"Alright, now that everything's clear, let us end for today" Hanabi said happily. "Tomorrow we meet here at 9.00 a.m. sharp to receive our first mission. Don't be late, okay?"

Her three new students nodded.

"You're dismissed" she finally said before disappearing in a blur, leaving the three newly certified genin by themselves.

"So… what do we do now?" Metal asked tentatively.

"You guys want to go grab some lunch?" Tsubasa asked back.

Hinabachi nodded while Metal made a thumbs up with a wide grin.

"Do any of you know a good place? I confess I am not very familiar with the restaurants of Konoha" Hinabachi asked.

"Well, it depends, what would you like to eat?" Tsubasa said.

"I want to eat loads of dumplings" Metal said loudly. He loved dumplings, especially the ones filled with shrimp.

"Metal, ladies first" Tsubasa scowled.

"It's okay, I don't really have any preferences. Dumpling sounds delicious, with some hot tea" Hinabachi said.

Metal was scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, he realised how rude he was. Tsubasa looked like he wanted to argue but decided against it. They had just made peace, no need to pick up another fight.

"I don't eat dumplings very often so I only know one place that sells them. I doubt it's the best in the village. Do you know a good place?" Tsubasa asked the other male of his team.

Metal nodded enthusiastically, evidently he had been thinking of a place since the subject of lunch was brought up. The rumbling of his stomach confirmed it.

Tsubasa snickered, while Hinabachi stared at the source of the sound. Metal grew even more embarrassed.

"LET'S GO. FOLLOW ME" he said as he walked quickly back to the village. The others said nothing and merely followed.

* * *

After walking for about 10 minutes, they reached a very small restaurant in an almost deserted alley. This part of the village looked a bit run-down. Tsubasa was worried, he always tried to avoid these kind of places, while Hinabachi's shoulders tensed a little.

Metal could easily guessed what they were thinking and grinned. "Don't worry. I come here all the time. This is where you can find the best dumpling place in the village. It's not only delicious but affordable. The owners are also very nice" he reassured them.

His teammates did not completely believe him but abstained from saying anything.

He entered the wooden cabin that had a drape instead of a door and entered it. He yelled audibly "HELLO, IT'S ME AGAIN!"

An elderly men came from the room behind the counter, he was smiling at the boy clad in green.

"Ah, Metal-kun, we haven't seen you since… I think it's been three days right?" he asked behind him.

"Two days, dear" an elderly woman come from behind as well. She was wearing a large white apron and a white bandana, revealing her as the cook.

While the exterior looked old and dirty, the interior was pristine. The tables and chairs looked well taken care of, while the decorations on the walls looked simple and welcoming. On the wall behind the counter, right above the door, was an old opened scroll. Names of various dishes were written delicately on the paper, there was no indication of any alteration. This meant that the place had an unchanging menu for a very long time.

What disturbed Hinabachi however was the lack of customers despite the obviously great care given to the place. The three of them were the only ones in the restaurant, and it was around 1:30 p.m.

Metal grabbed her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. "These are my new teammates, Hinabachi and Tsubasa" he said to the old couple. Then he turned to the other two "Guys, the old man here is Jiro-san, and his wife Umi-san. Umi-san is the cook, while Jiro-san is a carpenter. He made all the furniture in here."

"It's a pleasure to meet you" Tsubasa bowed politely. He then turned to the woman and put on a very charming smile "Metal told us this is where the best dumplings can be found, I doubted his words until I saw you."

The old lady blushed, she put her hands on her cheeks and said "No, not at all. Metal never said he had such a handsome friend." Tsubasa chuckled.

"I'm not worthy of such praises, ma'am, especially from such a wonderful lady." Umi giggled.

Jiro walked to the front of the boy, and smiled at him "Careful lad, I may be retired, but I was a jonin."

Tsubasa merely smiled, never losing his composure. He was used to this reaction ever since he was little.

"You're were a jonin, and a carpenter?" Hinabachi interjected.

"Woodwork is just my hobby. I actually met Umi when she asked me to furnish her new restaurant."

"I see" the girl replied. "Your works are excellent, and the craftsmanship is well-detailed. That is very impressive."

"Thank you, young lady" the old man replied proudly.

"Alright then, Umi-san. I'm starving, so I will have three servings of shrimp dumplings, two servings of vegetable dumplings, and a serving of sweet pork buns." Metal said hurriedly with his hand raised.

"Noted. And the two of you?" Umi asked.

"I'll have the same as Metal but only one serving of each. I'd also like some hot tea" Hinabachi ordered.

"Make that two, ma'am" Tsubasa added with his charming face still on.

Umi nodded, and went to the back, probably where the kitchen was.

Jiro indicated with a hand a table by the window and then went behind the counter. They sat down, each on one side of the table, and waited.

From his seat, Tsubasa looked around the restaurant, observing every nook and cranny. He then asked "Metal, if this is such a good place why are we the only customers here?"

"Because Jiro-san and Umi-san are not looking to expand. They are basically retired, and are only catering to pass the time. That's not really a problem though, the only customers that come here are regulars and friends. You can often see ninjas coming here, but they usually order take outs. My mom is one of the regulars" Metal explained.

As soon as he was finished, Jiro brought a plate with a big teapot and three empty cups. He put them on the table and went back.

Before anyone could move Hinabachi took the pot and pour the contents in the three cups, then sliding each one to her teammates.

"Thank you Hinabachi-chan" Tsubasa said, a charming smile full on. "Thanks, Hinabachi-san" Metal said with a grin. The girl nodded.

"So what kind of missions do you think we'll be assigned?" Tsubasa asked the group.

"I want an awesome mission where we'll have to fight other ninjas" Metal said.

"I believe we'll receive a mission based on our current capabilities" Hinabachi said.

"What kind of mission did you have when you became a genin in Iwa?" Tsubasa asked.

Hinabachi paused, not comfortable discussing her past. The other two waited, assuming she was thinking. The girl tried to put aside her feelings, there was nothing wrong in talking about this.

"What you must know is that Iwa and Konoha do things very differently. I only became a genin for around two weeks, and most of the time it was training to coordinate attacks and ambushes, drills to defend a location or evacuate civilians. Things like that" Hinabachi explained. The boys were listening carefully, interested in the workings of another main village.

"I actually only received three missions since I became a genin. The administrators only gave us boring or unchallenging missions, such as quickly delivering documents to different parts of the village, or guiding visitors for a whole day. Anyway, I did not really had time to be frustrated since by the end of the second mission, the paperwork for my emigration were already being processed" she finished.

"Do you think we'll get missions like that too?" Metal asked a little bit depressed. Doing missions like that kind of put a damper on his motivation.

"I don't know. Like I said things are different here. So don't lose your enthusiasm."

"How come you were not given better missions? You are very skilled. During the test, you used great ninjutsu. I know for a fact that there was no way I could have beaten you. Is it because of your teammates? You did say you did not get along" Tsubasa pointed out.

"My team was considered a 'problem team' because it was consisted of 'problem students'. They had no expectations for us and assumed we had little chance of ever being promoted" she replied.

"Wait, what? You were a problem student?" Tsubasa asked incredulously. Hinabachi nodded.

"NO WAY" Metal shouted. The other two turned to him, Tsubasa scowled. Metal noticed and put a hand on his mouth before he could continue. "Sorry" he said in a lower voice.

"Hinabachi-san, I thought you were a top student with your skills, why were you put in that kind of team?" he said.

The girl sighed. She was afraid they were going to ask about that, then she reminded herself she needed to start trusting them. After a few minutes of complete silence, she replied quickly "Because my chunin teacher did not like me."

The two were staring at her with round eyes and slightly opened mouths, but before they could say anything their orders came. To avoid, or probably to stall, any other questions Hinabachi quickly grabbed her portion, put her hands together and said in a loud voice "Itadakimasu!" She nearly shoved the dumplings in her mouth.

The boys were still looking at her but relented since she made her point. They did not want to press her, at least not now. They took their food and started eating as well. Seeing their consideration, Hinabachi relaxed, and started eating slower. Metal was telling the truth, these dumplings were the best she had ever tasted. The meal went quietly, a faintly uncomfortable atmosphere reigned between them, Hinabachi believed she was partly responsible but did not know how to make it better. She should not have bothered.

Metal asked in a happy tone "What do you think? Are those the best or what?"

"It's really delicious" Tsubasa said smiling.

"Correct. I can confirm these are the best dumplings I have ever eaten" Hinabachi replied.

Metal grinned widely. "You know Hinabachi-san," he turned to face the girl who looked back at him, "I'm not the sharpest person here but even I can see you're not comfortable talking about your past, so if you don't want to, just tell us "I don't want to." We will probably be sad but we would understand. After all, we're friends now, right Tsubasa-kun?"

Tsubasa looked at Metal uncomfortably. _How the hell can he say those kind of things while smiling? It's so embarrassing_ he thought. "Riiight" he replied unconvincingly.

"Why do you think we are friends? I know we are teammates, but why did you think of us as friends?" Hinabachi asked in a serious tone. It was not sarcasm, she honestly was curious about this boy's thinking process.

Metal's grin widened. "Easy, we fought each other, we reconciled with each other, and we have passed a trial together. That means we're friends now."

There was a long silence, Metal never stopped grinning.

 _I see. A simple naïve way of thinking. This boy is so pure even though he is so strong. The old me would have probably rejected his notions, but if I do that now I'll be no better than my ex-teammates. Trust can be so hard_ Hinabachi thought.

"I'm not sure it's that simple, Metal. In my opinion, friendship is achieved after a long period of time, and I just met the both of you today" she said reluctantly. "I'm not saying we will never become friends but for me it's too soon, I'm sorry."

"Hahaha" Metal laughed. "You're too serious. Don't apologise. You may not think of me as your friend yet but I'll prove it to you. For me the two of you are already my friends and I'll gladly risk my life to protect you both."

They looked at him curiously. Metal was showing a side he never showed before. Gone was the loud and obnoxious boy who said 'springtime of youth' at every sentence. Here was a boy, a ninja, who decided to take a leap and chose to trust them completely without any need for proof or action. Metal believed in them just like that.

"Stop this" Tsubasa said to him. Metal's grin vanished and he looked at the boy. "If you decide to believe in someone so easily and in the end you get betrayed, doesn't that make you a fool? You can trust someone with a few things, but to believe in them when you've known them for only a day is stupid" he finished before turning towards the window.

Metal smiled "I prefer to be betrayed than to betray someone, or never to trust anyone ever again. I will probably get betrayed someday, that's for sure. I will probably be sad and angry and hurt. But I know it won't happen sorely because of me. Until I'm betrayed by someone, I will always believe in them until the end. Besides, we shared many things about each other, so I did not just trust you blindly."

The two looked at the tall boy once again in a new light. Metal appeared to be far stronger than them, both physically and mentally.

Tsubasa could not help but feel embarrassed. He never had someone he could call a true friend. He never tried to get too close to people. Sure, he went out with plenty of girls and had fun with them but never considered them 'friends' only 'people to have fun with when I'm bored'. Metal told him that he will trust them, believe in them, and protect them so easily, that it made him feel bad. He did not want to get close to him, but did not want to betray him either. He threw his hands in the air, Metal had the ability to annoy him without even trying.

Hinabachi was looking at her tea cup, focusing on the moving liquid, lost in thoughts. What should she do? Should she trust those two even if they've just met? She had indeed told them things she never told anyone, at least not anyone who did not know already, but was that enough? Apparently that was more than enough for Metal.

Tsubasa had voiced out her thoughts well, albeit in a more informal tone, but Metal simply replied honestly. She noticed that Tsubasa may be as unsociable as she was. In her case, her circumstances made it difficult for her to connect with strangers, especially from this village, but in Tsubasa's case, he simply did not want to get close to anyone. Both of them were skilled at being shinobi but not good with their people skills.

 _Always move forward without ever forsaking your will_.

The Will of Stone.

I must move forward, and I cannot do that if I let my past prevent me from improving. I want to go back to Iwagakure, and I cannot do that without help. _Not trusting anyone because of my problems sounds more like an excuse right now_ she thought. There were people who genuinely cared about her here, and she knew they tried hard to make her feel welcomed in Konoha. Thus she resolved herself.

"While I was at the Academy, I was not liked by many people" she started. The boys looked at her.

"The few friends that I had were all from civilian families. The others were told by their guardians that I was from the weakest shinobi clan in Iwa, and interacting with me will reflect badly on them. The instructors had the same preconceptions, they did not believed I had potential and paid little attention to my education. Those that did not have any problem with me hesitated to help due to peer pressure. During my last year, my chunin instructor was someone who openly hated the Kamizuru clan. To this day, I still don't know why."

She paused to empty her cup before refilling it. Her teammates said nothing and waited patiently.

"That person sabotaged most of my efforts during my remaining year. I was often bullied as the students knew the teacher wouldn't say anything against them. If I tried to defend myself or argue against the mistreatment I would often get scolded at, and sometimes I would even receive punishment. My friends started to avoid me, not wishing to get caught in my troubles. It was not easy but it was bearable. However all of these little incidents had accumulated in my permanent records, resulting in me being labelled as a 'problem child with no motivation and frequent insubordination to authority'. So even though I passed my final exams, I was put in a team with other 'problem children' who coincidently happened to be my bullies."

Metal and Tsubasa made very angry faces. They did not like what they were hearing.

"Things were better after this. Although my jonin sensei believed the Academy report, his attitude towards me was neutral, so my teammates could not do anything against me without getting reprimanded. However as I mentioned before they excluded me of team discussions and operations, this affected our overall performance, and as a result the whole team was rated below average. But like I said, it was only for a very short time" she concluded her story.

"That's horrible. How can ninjas act like that? Are Iwa shinobi idiots?" Tsubasa said angrily.

"It wasn't as bad as you think. I still had friends among the civilians, and they were very helpful when my mother died. There were also other ninjas that treated me impartially, like any other genin. Besides I viewed the situation positively; shinobi who would torment me as such probably saw me as a threat. Thus, their actions were an indication of my current abilities. I was more than satisfied by this revelation, it made me want to surpass myself even further" Hinabachi added.

"That's…" Tsubasa started, thinking how to phrase his thoughts properly. "…a very mature way of thinking." He was impressed by how she handled her difficulties on her own, it made him wish he had a similarly strong mentality.

Metal could only nod, unable to say anything else. Hinabachi was a strangely wise person. It made him even happier to have someone like that as his teammate.

"Hinabachi-san, you're incredible" Metal told the girl with his trademark grin. The girl merely nodded.

No one said anything afterwards, all other question were either forgotten or kept for another day. The three genin felt that they had shared enough for a day, any more would feel wrong. They finished their meal in a more or less comfortable silence. Metal would occasionally brought up something to talk about; unimportant chitchat that was surprisingly entertaining and served well in passing the time while eating. He was quite sociable.

After a while they had finished their meal, and were drinking the remaining tea.

"Shall we go then?" Hinabachi asked. The boys nodded and they proceeded to the counter where Jiro-san was reading the newspaper. They split the bill evenly and thanked the couple for the meal. The latter smiled at them and told them to come again.

* * *

The team leisurely walked towards the centre of the village where they each planned to go on their way. When they reached said location, Metal turned to his new friends.

"Alright then, what are our plans for tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well, we have to meet Hanabi-sensei at our rendezvous point. After that I can only make assumptions" Hinabachi answered monotonously.

"No, I meant what do you guys want to do beside our mission?" Metal replied.

"What else is there?" Tsubasa asked.

"We all want to get stronger, right?" The other two nodded.

"Then shouldn't we plan to train together from now on? My father told me that he got much stronger by training with his team rather than by himself. I'm sure you guys have already found several of my weaknesses" he said enthusiastically.

His teammates thought about it.

"Alright, then let's ask sensei to train us together before or after the mission. She probably had planned to anyway but it won't hurt to ask, right?" Tsubasa asked.

"Agreed. It is a very interesting idea Metal. I am eagerly anticipating the results of such training. That would certainly be a novelty" Hinabachi replied.

Metal grinned widely, his bright teeth reflecting the light, mildly blinding his friends.

"I'm sure we'll all get stronger faster than we think. I can't wait. Tsubasa-kun, Hinabachi-san, see you tomorrow" he turned away, ready to sprint towards his destination.

"Hina" a small voice said.

Metal turned back, he saw Tsubasa looking at Hinabachi, who was looking away with a barely noticeable blush.

"Huh?" Metal questioned.

"You can call me Hina. I prefer to be called that by the people I'm close to, and no need for '-san' please" she said as she turned to look at them.

Metal and Tsubasa stared at the girl then at each other before smiling.

"It would be my pleasure, Hina-chan" Tsubasa said with a gentle smile.

"AS YOU WISH, HINA-CHAN. YOU ARE BURNING WITH THE FLAMES OF YOUR YOUTH, IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE WE BECOME THE BEST TEAM IN KONOHA" Metal yelled.

Tsubasa rolled his eyes, apparently Metal would unconsciously fall back into his bad habit when excited. He supposed it was better than before since he only did it occasionally.

After hearing his words however, something extraordinary happened. It only lasted a few seconds but both boys saw it.

Hinabachi, or Hina, smiled.

A genuine, honest smile that transformed her face. She looked beautiful.

The boys blushed. In that instant, they had forgotten that she was a ninja who could battle so effectively, a person who went through very rough times, a kid their age with the mind of an adult. She was just a pretty girl who looked simply happy.

Hina noticed their stares, and promptly returned her facial features back to how it was. Then she turned to the direction of the Aburame compound and said "I'll see you tomorrow, good day" and walked away without turning back.

The boys kept looking at her until she disappeared in a corner, and after a moment, regained their composure. Then they looked at each other.

"That was unexpected" Tsubasa said.

"Hina-chan is full of surprises" Metal added.

"Indeed" he said approvingly before turning away. "Alright then Metal, I'll see you tomorrow" he waved one hand.

"TSUBASA-KUN" Metal said suddenly.

Tsubasa turned towards the loud voice. He saw Metal grinning and with a thumbs up right in his direction.

"As long as the three of us are together, we'll definitely achieve our dreams!"

Tsubasa stared at the boy for several seconds before turning back. "You really need to learn some restraint" he commented as he walked away

Metal merely grinned at his remark before he went on his way. Unbeknownst to him, Tsubasa was smiling as he walked back home.

* * *

Author's note: That was my longest chapter yet. As you may have noticed, there were a few changes among some characters (e.g. Lee and Tenten's relationship).


	6. Chapter 6: Intermission

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to that Japanese guy whose name I can't remember

Chapter 6: Intermission

* * *

Jōnin Retirement Home, 4:00 p.m.

At the reception, a nurse could be seen behind the counter, talking to a tall young boy clad in a green jumpsuit.

"Hello, I'm here to see Maito Gai-sama" Metal happily said to the receptionist.

"One moment please" the woman told the boy as she picked the phone.

Metal often came to this place to visit his idol. The staff knew him well and always welcomed him here.

"He's in the backyard. Remember that visiting hours finish at 5:30 p.m."

"Yes ma'am."

He dashed to the said location and thus could not hear the receptionist shouting "Don't run in the corridors!"

When he arrived to the large garden he could see Gai-sensei, in his wheelchair, at a table, sipping sake. Across the table was another person who Metal did not recognise until he was close enough. When he reached a reasonable distance, he recognised the Rokudaime. The men turned towards the newcomer, who bowed deeply.

"Gai-sensei, Rokudaime-sama, good afternoon" he said politely.

"Ah Metal" Gai responded excitedly. "How are you doing? You met your team today didn't you? Tell me about them!"

Hatake Kakashi stared at the boy, curious as well. He had completely forgotten that today was graduation day, which meant that this boy got his new team, and had to go through the hidden teamwork test. He wondered if he passed. He did not know the boy as well as Gai, the children he was most familiar with were Boruto and Sarada.

Metal grinned widely. "HAI, GAI-SAMA" he shouted. "My teammates are Kurama Tsubasa and Kamizuru Hinabachi, and they are incredible. Tsubasa-kun is a real genius at genjutsu, he can make one without any hand seals, and Hina-chan is awesome at ninjutsu. She trapped me in a big hole filled with mud and even made the mud tied me up. Oh, and she can also control bees. Our sensei is Hyūga Hanabi, and she is pretty and strong and fast and smart, she made us go through a very difficult test. We failed at first but she gave us another chance and we passed."

He paused to catch his breath, he had said all that very quickly.

Gai laughed loudly, the boy was so happy with his team and it showed.

"YOSH, I'm glad to see you got such a good team. And I'm very proud you passed your final test. You have reached a new level in your springtime of youth" he said with a thumbs up and a wide shiny smile. The boy replied with his thumb and teeth as well. Kakashi just returned to his drink, processing what he just heard. Two names caught his attention; Kamizuru and Hyūga.

He had participated in the secret meeting between the leaders of Konoha and Iwa. Only the three Hokage, and the two Tsuchikage were present. No ANBU guards, no hidden spies, not even their trusted aides were allowed to hear this conversation. It was up to each of them to disclose the information to the people they trusted most. Such precaution was a necessity due to the gravity of the situation. Kakashi remembered that the Kamizuru girl was among the various topics brought up. _Hmm, so Naruto put her in that team, under his sister-in-law no less_ Kakashi thought.

Hyūga Hanabi, the next head of the Hyūga clan.

 _She has taken a team? It will be the first time in the history of her clan that a future head took a genin team_ he thought.

The Hyūga clan had changed over the years. After the war, a few traditions had been abandoned. It all started with the death of Hyūga Neji, who was honoured as a war hero by the whole village, and the first branch member who was openly referred to as 'the greatest ninja of the Hyūga clan'. Many members from the main family, mostly the elders, had argued to the changes proposed by the current head, Hyūga Hiashi. They were not comfortable with change, especially to the one which was always brought up in the meetings: the abolition of the Cursed Seal. There was a loud debate that went on for several years. The elders were slowly losing their ground on this matter, mainly due to Hiashi's adamant insistence, the support of both his daughters, the approval of the heads of the other noble clans, as well as the Godaime's and Rokudaime's. Finally, having the full support of the 'Saviour of the World' made it a guarantee. The abolishment was completed when Naruto became Hokage. There was a week-long celebration.

"So Metal, do you think you will be able to work with them?" he asked the boy tentatively.

"HAI ROKUDAIME-SAMA" Metal saluted. "All three of us want to get stronger and we've agreed to train and work together to achieve our dreams."

Kakashi smiled. He liked to hear about new ninjas that have understood the importance of teamwork. The Kamizuru girl seemed to have adapted pretty well to her new environment. It made him feel nostalgic; he missed training and messing up with young genin. He knew Gai felt the same way.

"Metal, the flames of your youth will turn into an inferno as it burns alongside the flames of your teammates, together you will set fire to the Shinobi World, and with their heat you will become the strongest one there is" Gai said with tears pouring from his eyes.

Kakashi signed. Despite the wheelchair, Gai had not lost his drive, on the contrary, he seemed to have taken the energy from training and running around, to his enthusiasm. While Lee and his wife were training their son, Gai had personally taught the boy about the mentality of a taijutsu fighter. That resulted into turning the boy into another clone of himself.

"HAI, GAI-SAMA" Metal responded with tears pouring as well.

It went on like this until visiting hours were over.

* * *

Kurama residence, 4:15 p.m.

"Tadaima" Tsubasa said with an audible voice as he opened the door.

"Okaeri" a female voice could be heard from the living room.

"Mom, you are up?" the boy asked as he entered the room.

"Yes, I feel better now. How was your day?" Yakumo said with a smile. She was currently sitting comfortably on the couch while watching TV.

"I'm exhausted" he groaned. He sat next to his mother who smiled at him, patiently waiting to hear how his graduation day went.

Tsubasa began to tell her everything from when he first met his new jōnin sensei. She laughed at several points, namely; his new teammate Metal, the beating he got from his sensei (he glared when she muffled her laugh), and when the woman told them that the secret to pass was to fail.

However other parts were far more interesting; a Hyūga sensei, a female teammate he did not try to seduce (probably due to her bees), and the fact that the girl was not from Konoha. That was unusual, but overall, his opinion of his team was positive. When he told her about their lunch, she smiled pleasantly, happy to see his son making new friends. She admitted it; she was a bit worried he would not get along with them, his personality, and his façade, would have made that difficult.

They spoke for about an hour when they heard a voice coming from the entrance. Tsubasa's father, Satsuki, came in smiling at his family.

"Okaeri" both of them replied.

He approached them, ruffled his son's hair, and kissed his wife tenderly on the lips. Tsubasa was used to this open display of affection. His father was even more popular than him among the general female population, civilian and ninja alike, but he had never showed interest in any other woman.

"How was your day?" Yakumo asked him.

"Busy actually. I was told there would be a few guests today, namely the heads of the Yamanaka and Nara Clan, along with their children. These kids looked strangely battered and exhausted, it looked like they had rolled in dirt. Chocho-sama even asked me to cook twice the quantity I usually cook for her. I had to go shopping for ingredients once more" Satsuki said. His wife and son were listening attentively, they could guess what happened with these clan children.

Satsuki, Tsubasa's father, was a personal chef. He was quite demanded, especially by ninja families, due to his wide knowledge of food and nutrition. His experience with catering ninjas had taught him how different they ate compared to civilians; ninjas noticeably consumed much more, and required far more nutrients than civilians. Akimichi Karui was among his regular customers.

"Today was graduation day" Tsubasa commented.

"What's that got to do with what I said?" his father asked.

"Well, new genin are required to go through a surprise test, so I think Chocho's team was tired from that"

"I see. I didn't know that. I'll ask Choji-sama to inform me the next time something like that happens. More importantly Tsubasa, how was YOUR day?"

Tsubasa started to tell him what he said to his mother, while she went to the kitchen and started to prepare some tea. She really enjoyed these kind of conversations, with the three of them together.

"Well I'm glad you made some new friends" Satsuki told his son.

"I met Hina-chan just today, and Metal and I never got along before. I don't think of them as friends yet. Hina-chan was right; it will take much longer than this."

"I don't think it will be that long. You just have to be more open with them. Shinobi teams tend to form lifelong bonds. I believe you and your teammates will become something great. All three of you sound motivated, talented, and hardworking, a great combination" he replied optimistically.

Tsubasa looked at his father with an embarrassed expression, he secretly hoped he was right but he'll never admit it. He felt uncomfortable, he sometimes envied his father's positive attitude. And so it was with a hesitant voice that Tsubasa replied

"Maybe."

* * *

Hokage's office, 5:00 p.m.

Naruto still had several documents to go through. It was unlikely he'd finish before midnight. Right now, it was time to hear the reports of the 11 jōnin assigned to this year's team. He signed as he sat on the chair in the conference room, and looked at the men and women who were gathered here standing in front of him. There were also two chūnin administrators as well, in charge of collecting the reports containing observations of the graduates and their reasons for passing or failing. He wondered if this year will be the exception, in which more than nine genin would pass the final test. Last year only one team passed. He was always saddened to hear someone failed, remembering his own days when he was more bark than bite, and when he almost failed his test.

Konohamaru stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, we have all examined this year's graduates. On the 33 students who have passed the Academy exams, only 9 are confirmed to have passed our tests. The first team is Team 7 which consists of Uzumaki Boruto, Uchiha Sarada, and Mitsuki, under Sarutobi Konohamaru."

Mirai walked to Konohamaru's side "The second team is Team 10, consisted of Yamanaka Inojin, Nara Shikadai, and Akimichi Chocho, under Sarutobi Mirai."

Hanabi went next to the younger woman "Team 11 made of Metal Lee, Kurama Tsubasa, and Kamizuru Hinabachi, under Hyūga Hanabi, are confirmed to have satisfied the prerequisites of certified genin."

There was a short pause as Naruto processed all this new information. The room was filled with murmur, as the jōnin were whispering among themselves, and money from bets were being handed. He distinctly heard "Guess we couldn't reach two digits this year either" and "I knew the Hokage's brat would pass" among others.

"Very well. Is there anything else I need to know about any of these children?" Naruto asked them.

No answer.

"Good, then the jōnin whose genin have passed, stay. The rest, thank you for your hard work. Chūnin, send the reports to Aburame Shino" he stated loudly.

All jōnin bowed deeply to their leader, and all but three left the room. The chūnin promptly left as well, with the stacks of reports in their arms.

When it was only the four of them, Naruto let out a deep signed and sprawled in his chair.

Konohamaru chuckled "Bad day, Naruto-niisan?"

"More like busy day" Naruto complained. "So tell me how they did?"

The jōnin looked at each other, Konohamaru lightly elbowed his cousin, signalling her to start.

Mirai cleared her throat "As you know, it was the previous Ino-Shika-Cho trio that conducted the test today. I would say that the new generation's teamwork is almost natural. Their individual skills could use some work though, their jutsu repertoires consist only of their clan jutsu, and we know those have their limitations. However, compared to their parents when they were at their age, they are distinctly stronger. I have several training regimens for them which I already discussed with the clan heads. I believe in a few months they will make even more progress. They also tend to look to Shikadai-kun as their unofficial leader. Their attitudes are more or less manageable; Inojin has a tendency to avoid any problematic situation but he's not as short-tempered as his mother. Shikadai is like his father; smart, calm, but really lazy. Chocho is more confident in herself than Choji-san, but she tends to jump to conclusions too easily."

She waited to see the Hokage's reaction. He looked satisfied with the outcome which pleased Mirai. She was fond of her team, and very proud to be their instructor, especially when she was just made jōnin and had little experience in individual assignments. Jōnin-sensei are usually people who had a few A-rank missions in their belt, but according to several assessments, Mirai had the skills to make up for it. It was also mentioned that she had talent for teaching others.

Naruto turned to Hanabi. They did not talk as much as they used to. Before he became Hokage, she often visited her sister during her free time, and would play with the children who were very fond of her. Boruto especially liked to train with her since he sometimes felt his mother went too easy on him. Hanabi was one of the few people (save for his close friends) who did not hesitate to tease him. Not in public obviously, that would be disrespectful, but when they were with friends she would often say something that would make him (and his wife when she was with him) blushed or embarrassed. It was nice, he felt like he had an incorrigible little sister. However ever since he became Hokage, and she was made jōnin, they rarely saw each other except for briefings and clan matters which required his attention.

"You look like hell, can't you call in sick and go home, at least for one night?" she inquired.

Naruto knew what she meant, his sister-in-law was aware of his worsening relationship with his son. "No, Hanabi, I can't do that. This is my duty" he stated with a sad smile. Hanabi merely shrugged.

"Oh well, never mind. Let's see. You could say that Team 11 is the opposite of Team 10. Individually they are more than adequate, but when it comes to teamwork, they're seriously gonna need more training. Unlike Mirai though, I did not test their team abilities but made them go through an impossible task. They failed miserably on their first try, and even attacked each other. But on the second time, when I demanded them to sacrifice one of them, they proved they could do what was right instead of what would benefit them. The potential is definitely there. Metal is very strong and hardworking despite his bad habits, and he has the heart to show it, although I find him a bit annoying. Tsubasa on the other hand is a bit anti-social, but nowhere near as bad as Sasuke-san" she glanced at the Hokage who looked at her pointedly.

It made her snickered.

"His imagination and his ability to visualise make his genjutsu very realistic. His chakra control is among the best of his generation, although he's going to need help with his taijutsu. In contrast, Hinabachi is in a class by herself. Her chakra reserve and control are all above average. Her ninjutsu could rival a chūnin, and her usage of insects is as effective as an Aburame. She's also very mature and wise for her age, but shows signs of discomfort and mistrust among us, especially with adults. It will take some time, but I've got a good feeling about the three of them."

Naruto nodded and gave Hanabi a meaningful look. She understood; she would have to submit a report with this assessment to the Tsuchikage later.

Finally, it was Konohamaru's turn.

"Team 7 works well together. The three of them get along really well, even Mitsuki was nicely adapting. His frank and warm attitude are well received by both of his teammates, although he should be a bit more forward with his opinions, and less biased towards people. His kekkei genkai is very versatile, and he is good at surprise attacks. He also seem to look up to Boruto. Sarada has already shown signs of being a genius, combining both her Sharingan, and near perfect chakra control. If trained correctly, she could become a specialist in any field; ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, you name it. She is enthusiastic but has a temper that matches her mother's, and sometimes feel that she has to watch out for the team. Boruto seems to be very adept in close combat, especially with the Jyuken despite his lack of the Byakugan. His chakra reserve and stamina are both very high, and his control slightly above average. He has a good mastery of the 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'. The problem is his attitude; when he's not acting all rebellious, he's making jokes out of everything, and while he doesn't dismiss teamwork, he tends to act solo. That, and his immaturity, are what seem to annoy Sarada the most, especially since they've known each other for so long."

Naruto deeply signed and rubbed his face with a hand, while Hanabi simply shook her head in exasperation. This was not the first time they heard something like that about Boruto. Shino had told Naruto about his behaviour in class, and when Hanabi went to visit her sister, she remembered the worried look on the latter's face when speaking of the boy.

"Thank you, all three of you. Keep me posted about Mitsuki and Hinabachi. If there are any problems that require my attention, inform me, okay?" Naruto asked.

The three jōnin nodded.

"Dismissed."

They walked out of the room, leaving the Nanadaime to his thoughts.

* * *

Aburame compound, 6:00 p.m.

Hina slowly slid the entrance door open. She tried to make as little noise as she could. Not because she was sneaking in but because she knew that the Aburame were quite sensitive to loud noises. She was also aware that they had already noticed her arrival.

"Okaeri nasai, Hinabachi" a deep voice said.

Hina looked at Shino, and bowed respectfully without uttering a word. She was still uncomfortable in his presence, and Shino knew it, which was why he did not correct her. He would wait, just like his friends told him to.

"Dinner is ready" he said.

"Thank you, Aburame-san. I'll be there in a few minutes" she replied. She went to her room to put her things away, then head to the bathroom to clean up. All the time thinking about her current situation.

In actuality, she knew that this was the time they had dinner. She purposefully came at this time to avoid engaging in any more conversation than needed. When she first moved in this place, she had planned to eat outside, or cook her own dinner, but Aburame Shino had told her it would please him to eat together. So Hina accepted his offer.

Dinner was strange here. It was just the two of them, and they usually kept quiet during those times. She did not mind conversing during meals. She always did it with her mother, and today she had done it with her teammates but Shino was different, Hina did not know why but she could not open herself up to him.

 _I don't understand. Why can't I just talk to him? I just spent the afternoon talking with two boys that I met today, and I've known Aburame-san for weeks now_ she thought irritatingly. It did not help that the man was also a naturally quiet person, a trait they both shared.

He never tried to force her do anything, he had made it clear that she could always refuse if she did not like what he asked her. He also constantly asked if she needed anything; help for her paperwork, guidance through the village, anything to make her room more comfortable, or even training to improve her skills. But Hina would always politely declined, saying she was more than satisfied with what she had, which she did. She was grateful for all his help and consideration, but every time he started to interact with her, she would act cold or distant. Afterwards she would feel guilty and depressed. She did not understand her own behaviour. As a result she thought it would be best for both of them if they did not get too close to each other.

 _I'm just avoiding the problem. I must still be immature, or weak, or probably both_ she thought depressingly. She felt like a coward.

She went to the dining room, and sat down at the table, Shino in front of her. Their meals usually consisted of standard Japanese meals, perfectly balanced and nutritious. Shino was a surprisingly good cook, which had impressed Hina the first time.

They started eating, the clinking of the tableware the only noise in the room. When they were nearly finished, Shino asked "Hinabachi, would you give me your current impression of your teammates, including your jōnin sensei?"

Hina jumped at the sudden question. It was either another attempt to engage in a conversation, or he could be genuinely interested in how her teammates appeared in the eyes of a third party. Until today, they were his students after all. In any case, that was her chance, she would open up to him just like she did with the two boys.

"Why would you consider the opinion of an inexperienced kunoichi such as myself?" she said coldly. _You idiot! What's wrong with you!?_ she yelled inwardly at herself.

Shino merely smile and said "I have a lot of confidence in your analytical skills. You have proven that you can provide unbiased and logical assessment when required. Thus I am curious about your thoughts concerning your team."

Hina stared at him for several seconds, her mind in jumbles. Once again, he was not offended by her tone of voice. Anyone would have found her rude. His tolerance towards her only made her feel guiltier. Worse, he complimented her in a warm yet logical way, which she found very flattering.

She took a deep breath, trying to think about what she would say to him. Since she was incapable of controlling her emotions around him, she might as well give him a detailed report, like a ninja would give to his leader. At least the coldness of her words would fit her statement.

"Metal's good points are his physical strength, enthusiasm, and positivity. He tackles every problems with all the efforts he can muster, and his determination never seem to waver. If he continues on this path he will, most probably, achieve his objectives. His bad points are his naïveté, and that he often acts before thinking. He uses his instincts more than his brain to respond to most situations. For an inexperienced shinobi, that is a problem; his instincts still need honing. Another problem is his habit of being noisy. Tsubasa and I hope he will learn to correct it in the near future."

She took a sip of her tea, then continued.

"Speaking of Tsubasa, he is smart, cunning, and remains calm in most situations. He is also very good at surprise attacks, and his skills are praiseworthy. He shows little hesitation when confronted with an enemy, thus indicating a certain amount of ruthlessness which is rare at this age. He is also quite stubborn which is both an advantage and a disadvantage; he will not give up easily, but it also means that he will most likely repeat the same mistakes a few times before correcting them. He does not easily admit when he is wrong, and reacts aggressively when it's proven. He is also quite distant towards strangers, despite his politeness."

"Overall, both of them are shinobi with excellent skills but with immature emotions. However they have demonstrated that when the situation demands it, they can put aside their pride in order to achieve a given mission. In the end, we will all need more experience to become truly acceptable shinobi."

She finished the last of her meal, stacked the plates on top of each other, and pour additional tea in her cup. Shino did the same.

"Now, regarding Hanabi-sensei. She has strength, speed, intelligence, and leadership skills. Her abilities are fearsome, I wager she is among the strongest jōnin in Konoha. I've previously heard of the Hyūga Clan, but this was far more than I expected. She toyed with us during the test, both physically and psychologically. She also seem to have a great deal of respect for this village's philosophy."

She paused, thinking about what to say next. Shino kept his silence, waiting for her to finish.

"That is all. She did very well in concealing as much information about her as she could, as expected from a shinobi of her calibre. However I don't have any evidence to support my analysis. It is all a matter of personal conjecture."

Shino nodded. "Excellent. I see you have made careful observations about all of them including yourself. As I said in class, they will be your companions from now on. It is very common for teammates to become as close as family, at least in Konoha. I hope that you will forge a similar relationship with these three."

Hina abstained from saying anything. She did not think the same. Her previous experience with teams did not make her optimistic, but as Shino said, this was not Iwa. This was a new place with new beginnings. Hopefully she would, one day, be able to adapt to this new environment.

* * *

Lee residence, 7:00 p.m.

"TADAIMAAA" yelled Metal as he opened the door.

"Okaeri, Metal" Tenten said to her son from the kitchen.

Metal ran to said room, and saw his mother finishing preparing dinner. He hurried to her side to help her.

"So how did it go?" the woman asked her son.

"It was GREAT!" said the boy excitedly. "My new sensei is a Hyūga, just like you and dad's friend. She is so strong and awesome. And my teammates are awesome too. I'm sure we'll become even more amazing later."

They chatted happily, as they put the dishes and plates on the table. Metal did not stop talking even as they ate. He did not eat at the same time he talked, at least not when he was in presence of his mother, she was very strict on manners, but that did not really matter because he ate really fast. He would chew rapidly, swallow, then started talking. After he finished a few sentences, he repeated the cycle. His mother was used to it.

The whole meal was more focused on today's events rather than the food. Tenten smiled all the way; during the conversation she would remember certain scenes from her first day as a genin when Metal brought up something that was similar to what happened to her team.

"By the way, I received a message from your father, he'll be back tomorrow" she said with a smile.

Metal's grin was so wide that it looked like his cheeks would split.

"YAHOOO" he jumped from his chair to land on the table with his fist high in the air. Tenten swiftly punched him on the head.

"Do not stand on the table!" she scolded.

Metal was holding his head as he scrambled back to his chair "OW OW OW. Sorry" he said in a low voice.

"I'm sure he's looking forward to hear stories of your team. It will be a change from you constantly asking us stories about ours" she said.

"Yes mom. Tomorrow we'll be given our first mission. I can't wait. I wonder what we'll be given. An escort mission? Or capturing a rogue ninja? I hope it's one where we'll have to fight someone strong!" he said rapidly.

 _Hehehe. Oh, he has no idea what's awaiting him_ Tenten thought amusedly, knowing exactly what kind of mission new genin usually received.

* * *

Streets of Konoha, 8:00 p.m.

A man and a woman were casually walking on the streets, towards the Hyūga compound.

"That was delicious, wasn't it?" Konohamaru said to Hanabi.

"Yes, it really was. I can never go to these places. Ever since I was small I could only eat at big expensive restaurants. Pubs and bars like that were forbidden. My instructors always spoke of 'seeing a Hyūga in such places is an affront' or stuff like that" the woman replied.

"Hahaha, you really don't care about what your clan thinks anymore, do you?" he said cheerfully.

"Not really. There attitudes have started to get irrational. Their respect for traditions has become nothing more than a way to maintain control over my father and me. Ever since Nee-san's marriage, they have lost most of their arguments. Before they would always say something like; 'Don't be a failure like your elder sister' and such, now that she has married the 'Hero of the World War', they could criticise her no longer, so they can only use the 'tradition' card. When I saw how the elders and some main family members treat the branch family, despite all of Neji-niisan's effort, I don't believe their actions would benefit my clan anymore."

"In that case, explain to me why you refused my proposal… twice" the last word was said between clenched teeth.

"That's different" she objected. "This is a far more important matter. I am the next head, my marriage must not only benefit the Hyūga clan, but also bear an heir that will guarantee its future. Even the branch family feels that I should marry within the clan. Ever since the abolition of the Cursed Seal, branch members have become potential suitors, so this time almost no one approves of our relationship. It's a bit sad to see the clan finally united when it comes to my future"

Konohamaru stopped walking, turned towards her, and stared at her. Feeling his movements, Hanabi stopped as well, looking back at him.

"What kind of reasons are they using? He doesn't have the Byakugan? He is not from a noble clan? He is not as wealthy as the Hyūga? Which is it?"

When he made his unusually serious face, Hanabi couldn't helped but blushed.

"It's not like that. The Hyūga Head has never married an outsider, due to the possibility for the children not inheriting the Byakugan. Or if they did inherit it, it could not be as powerful because of the mixed blood. A child of the Head with a weak Byakugan will raise concerns, you can understand that don't you?" she asked sadly.

He kept staring at her, not saying anything while she looked away, looking embarrassed or ashamed. They resumed their walk.

"And can you tell me; how is the Byakugan of your little niece?" Konohamaru asked rhetorically.

Hanabi gasped silently, she had not expected him to bring Himawari up.

"That was a coincidence. There is no way to tell if our children will obtain the Byakugan, especially one as strange as Himawari's."

"I wouldn't call it strange, I would call it superior."

Himawari's Byakugan came as a surprise for both her family and the Hyūga Clan. Firstly she had activated them at an earlier age than the average Hyūga child. Secondly, despite having irises, her Byakugan was as pure as Hanabi's, which baffled everyone. And finally, when asked, she had described everything she could see which was the final stroke to an unusual picture. Her range was quite far, and the details she could pick up were perfectly clear, and she did all that with no training. Her parents were bursting with pride, her brother showered her with praises, and her grandfather and aunt were pleasantly surprised. The members of the Hyūga Clan, not so much. Some raised a fuss that a mixed-blood had a superior Byakugan than the average Hyūga child, while others showed jealousy that an outsider was blessed with such a gift. Himawari did not seem to care for any of those negative comments and simply ignored them. Being the daughter of the Hokage made all their protests inconsequential.

"Boruto does not have the Byakugan, Konohamaru, and he's the eldest child. We don't know how this works, and my clan does not want to risk its future on a possibility" she commented.

They've reached the front door of the compound where two guards were standing in their chūnin's attire. They were scowling at him, but Konohamaru looked at them fiercely, daring them to say anything.

"Well then, this is it. Thank you for the meal. I'll see you at the next briefing" Hanabi said professionally, not wanting to make a fuss in front of the guards. She bowed lightly, and turned towards the door.

Konohamaru swiftly grabbed her shoulder with one hand and cupped her face with the other and kissed her passionately on her lips.

Hanabi, and the guards, were in such shocked that they did not move for a whole minute until…

Hanabi blast him away with a Hakke Kūshō (Vaccum Palm), he landed in the bushes situated in the front of the compound. He scrambled out of the foliage, covered in leaves, his head in a daze, and he looked at the woman.

"You…you…IDIOT!" she screamed at him, before running inside.

The guards were now glaring at the man, but did not move from their position. They did look like they were ready to strike him though.

Konohamaru stood up, and walked away back to his own clan's compound. He was grinning. The guards did not attack him for possibly two reason; either they knew he was far stronger than them, and could easily defeat them, or they saw Hanabi's blushing and embarrassed face when she screamed, proving that she did not dislike it.

The jōnin used his hands to clean himself of the twigs and leaves on his clothes and hair. A leaf fell from his head which he caught before it fell on the ground. He grabbed it by the stem and stared at it while walking.

 _A leaf, just like my name_ he thought absentmindedly.

He then lifted it towards the moon in the sky, it was a full moon tonight. The full moon always reminded him of her eyes. He looked at the leaf encircled by the shape of the moon behind it.

 _Soon Hanabi, I'll make you mine, no matter what your clan does_. His thoughts were of his soon-to-be wife as he hummed cheerfully.

* * *

Author's Note: There is a special chapter in which Himawari had awoken the Byakugan and kicked Naruto's ass, I used that as reference. The couple LeeXTenten, and KonohamaruXHanabi are so popular that I used that here.


End file.
